Supporters of presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo from Cotabato and Maguindanao braved the heat of the sun to hear her message in the People’s Rally they organized for her at the Cotabato State University on Wednesday, March 15. It has become traditional in these events for supporters to hold up placards with their messages of support and for Robredo to read and comment on them. (VP Leni Media Bureau)
ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo courted on Wednesday the vote of the Bangsamoro region which helped her win in 2016.
She and her running mate, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, campaigned in Cotabato City, the seat of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), in the hopes of getting the support of the region’s political leaders who hold sway over its over 2.2 million voters.
After speaking to thousands of supporters at the Cotabato State University grandstand in the morning, Robredo met with leaders of the interim Bangsamoro government, most of whom also head the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the electoral arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The MILF formed the UBJP in 2014 as its main vehicle for participating in the democratic political exercise after it committed to transition from a rebel organization as part of its peace deal with the government.
Although the May 9 polls will be its first, the UBJP has set out an aggressive participation, fielding local bets and forging alliances with kindred political groupings.
Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the campaign, Robredo said her visit to BARMM leaders would be a “meeting among friends” as she worked with many of them during the 16th Congress where she was among the legislators who pushed for the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
She also pointed out that most of her Angat Buhay projects were in the BARMM.
“We have been part of the fight [for development and peace] in the region even when we were not yet candidates,” Robredo said.
She also offered her congratulations to BARMM leaders for what they have achieved so far.
Robredo admitted that if they could “make a repeat of 2016,” the BARMM vote “[would] be a big help in my victory” on May 9.
Her BARMM campaign was boosted by the support she received from Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, who won two bids as governor of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Hataman had said that a Robredo presidency was the “best chance” for a continuity of peace initiatives in the region.
“I am certain that she will fight for our aspiration of a just, progressive, and humane Bangsamoro [society],” he added.
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