President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called on residents of Maguindanao del Norte to go out and participate in the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in May 2025 as he assured an honest, orderly and credible polls.
“And I also take this opportunity to remind you to exercise your right to suffrage as you chart your political future in the forthcoming first BARMM elections in May 2025,” President Marcos said in his speech during the 10th anniversary of the Signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB).
The President said the elections is the fulfillment of the democratic right to realize and achieve meaningful autonomy as enshrined in the CAB between the government and the MILF on March 27, 2014, or 17 years after peace negotiations started in 1997.
He also called on the residents to safeguard their votes as he warned against plans to derail the electoral process.
“I urge you, safeguard those rights, empower yourselves, take part in our shared task of nation-building. Hindi lamang ako umaasa na malinis at payapa ang halalang ito, pero higit sa lahat, ang bawat kandidato ay tangan ang prinsipyo ng Bangsamoro – ang Bangsamoro Muna Bago Sarili,” President Marcos said.
“Tayo ay titindig sa adhikain na Better Bangsa Moro. As your President, I assure that you will have an honest, orderly and credible conduct of the electoral process. Let this also serve as a warning to those who may plan to threaten and derail this upcoming election, huwag n’yo nang isipin ‘yan dahil ang kakalabinin na ninyo ay ang pamahalaan,” he added.
President Marcos said they should instead channel their energy to help build productive and thriving communities where citizens are offered livelihood opportunities and healthy living spaces.
“So, as we forge ahead, let us dedicate our work to those who did not see the dawn of peace break. We each lost generations of good men and women, caused unnecessary grief to their families. We held back decades of shared growth, we needlessly lost innocent lives in the crossfire,” the President said.
“We do not consider our mission to have ended. The peace may have been won, but now we must work together to secure that peace. As we defend the gains we have achieved, we will be vigilant against the enemies of peace. We will bear the full force of the state against terrorist elements,” he added.
President Marcos said the people will continue to reject the selfish agenda of those “who preach the discarded and debunked ideology of dismemberment.”
President Marcos attended the commemoration ceremony of the 10th anniversary of the signing of the CAB in Maguindanao del Norte where he vowed for a long-lasting peace in Mindanao.
“Sa ika-sampung anibersarsyo sa paglagda ng CAB, ipinangako natin na hindi na tayo papayag na dadanas muli ng karahasan ang ating mga anak. This is at the core of our policies towards transformative action that brings genuine change to the grassroots and this is the soul of the creation of the CAB,” he said. PND
