Today, another Mangudadatu, who does not see eye-to-eye with Esmael, rules in the province. He served as Maguindanao governor before becoming a congressman. It catapulted Esmael, leader of a faction of the Mangudadatu clan, into power. In his article, “The Political Clans in Maguindanao,” the late president of Cotabato’s Notre Dame University, Father Eliseo Mercado, stated that the Ampatuan patriarch presided for years over Maguindanao’s ruling clans that included the Mangudadatus, Masturas, Sinsuat, Matalams, and Midtimbangs until his downfall in 2009. as an offshoot of the infamous 2009 Maguindanao Massacre. More than a decade ago, Maguindanao saw a major change in its political landscape with the downfall of the family of the late governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. Their political influence can be traced back to the 1960s, when Maguindanao was still part of the bigger Cotabato province, said Assam Ulangkaya, a former journalist based in Cotabato City who had extensively observed the political clans. The warring Mangudadatu families, the Sinsuats, and Masturas belong to clans that have established themselves politically, in varying degrees, through the years in Maguindanao. Aside from his failed Maguindanao bid, Esmael’s wife Sharifa Akeel, a former model and beauty queen, also lost the Sultan Kudarat gubernatorial race to Suharto’s son. It was a double whammy for Esmael in the May elections. The two former congressmen were candidates of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The law was authored by former Maguindanao representatives Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu of the province’s 2nd District and Datu Roonie Sinsuat of the 1st District, which includes Cotabato City, the regional center of the Bangsamoro region.Įsmael lost his bid to unseat Bai Mariam, his cousin Suharto’s wife, while Roonie was unseated by Sittie Shahara Dimple Ibrahim-Mastura. Incidentally, the two former Maguindanao representatives who authored RA 11550 found themselves being left out in the anticipated division of the 36-town political territory. Politically, a Maguindanao split would also mean drawing a line between the turfs of the Mangudadatus and Sinsuats, allowing the two ruling families to fortify their political bases in areas that have already delivered the votes for them in previous elections. “We have to agree on everything that would be divided and shared, including loans, within 60 days,” he said. Torreña said there would be a lack of quorum in each provincial board at the beginning, but they would have two months to submit nominations for the legislative seats and get new officials appointed. Torreña said even Maguindanao’s provincial board – a legislative body of local politicians – would be divided.Īt the start, the two provincial governments would be unable to function as corporate entities given the vacancies in their legislative bodies.

Torreña said the capitol had started consolidating a list, but details would only be tackled if Maguindanao’s voters ratify the law during the plebiscite on Saturday.

11550, the 2021 law that called for a plebiscite on the creation of the two Maguindanao provinces, nearly everything would be split by the two provincial governments – from the legislature, workforce, and assets to debts.īut officials have yet to agree on the list of properties, employees, and even debts that would be shared in the event Maguindanaoans vote for the province’s division on September 17, said provincial administrator Cyrus Torreña. Dividing everythingīased on Republic Act No. Lester has served as Maguindanao vice governor. Sinsuat’s husband Lester, meanwhile, is the mayor of Datu Odin Sinsuat, a town that would become the capital of Maguindanao del Norte if the law is ratified this weekend.

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