Over 300 Bangsamoro graduates from the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan convene to show support for the interim government and the upcoming 2023 BARMM parliamentary election at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex (SKCC), Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC), Cotabato City on July 11, 2024. (Comenei Ali/BIO)
COTABATO CITY—More than 300 alumni members of a religious group called the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan (HKJ) convened on July 11 to show their support for the regional government’s goals for the Bangsamoro land.
HKJ is one of the religious groups that filed for certification before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) through the Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta’ (BDI), following the guidelines on Ulama Sectoral Organizations.
Sheikh Saidy Ahmad Montaner, the convenor of the general assembly, stated that the graduates are one with the initiatives for the autonomous region.
“This program shows the unity of the alumni from Jordan, our support to the interim government, especially Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, and our answer to the call of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament for the religious sector’s representation in the 2025 BARMM parliamentary election,” Montaner said at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex (SKCC) in this city’s Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC).
Bangsamoro Wālī, Sheikh Muslim Guiamaden, emphasized that embodying oneness among the people conforms to Islamic beliefs.
He also urged the Bangsamoro citizens to be eager to be informed about important matters, citing specifically the assembly, which concerns their welfare, rights, and the region.
Last June 26, 34 Ulama groups submitted their applications to the BDI for the latter’s endorsement to the COMELEC.
The event was collaboratively spearheaded by the Bangsamoro Pilgrimage Authority (BPA), BDI, BTA through the offices of Member of Parliament (MP) Abdulwahab Pak and MP Zaid Salendab, the Office of the Wālī of Bangsamoro, and the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM).
Upcoming BARMM parliamentary polls
The first parliamentary election in the Philippines and the Bangsamoro region will take place in May next year.
Reserved seats for different sectoral groups, constituting at least 10% of the BTA Parliament, are stipulated under Section 7 paragraph (c) Article VII of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the law that created the BARMM.
The Bangsamoro Government, through its Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO), leads the ongoing Halalang Bangsamoro campaign in disseminating information about the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC), the governing law for the 2025 polls.
This campaign is in partnership with the COMELEC and various civil society organizations (CSOs) to prioritize voter education and awareness and ensure a well-informed electorate for the 2025 parliamentary election. (Johamin Inok/BIO)
