4 Misuari children join race for BARMM parliament seats as party nominees

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The group led by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari has filed a manifestation of intent to participate in the first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections scheduled for 2025, hours before the close of week-long filing period.

The manifestation, submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cotabato City on Saturday morning, November 9, would allow Misuari’s group, the Mahardika Party, to vie for seats in the BARMM parliament.

The 85-year-old Misuari, who led the MNLF in fighting for Moro self-determination until reaching a peace settlement with the government in the 1990s, is not included in the list of 40 nominees submitted by Mahardika to the Comelec. Misuari served as governor of BARMM’s precursor, the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

However, four of the MNLF founder’s children are among the party’s nominees: Mahardika Party president Ustadz Adib Tan Misuari, Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) members Abdulkarim and Nurredha Misuari, and BARMM Social Welfare and Development Deputy Minister Nur-Ainee Tan Lim.

Mahardika’s papers were submitted to the Comelec by Misuari’s son Adib and lawyer Randolph Parcasio, the party’s president and secretary-general, respectively.

The 2025 Bangsamoro parliament election is scheduled for May 12, with 80 seats initially up for grabs until the Supreme Court (SC) ruled in September to exclude Sulu – and thus, the province’s seven parliamentary district seats – from the Muslim-majority region established five years ago.

Of the remaining seats, 25 are reserved for parliamentary districts in the provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur (including Marawi), and Cotabato City. Eight seats are allocated to sectoral representatives, while 40 are reserved for BARMM’s accredited political parties.

The move by Misuari’s MNLF faction made divisions within the group pronounced. Just a day earlier, MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema’s faction, the Bangsamoro Party (BAPA), filed its own manifestation of intent to participate in the BARMM elections, aiming to secure seats in the Bangsamoro parliament.

Sema, a former mayor of Cotabato City, leads the MNLF’s 15-member council. – Rappler.com