POLITICAL NEWBIE. Former beauty queen Sharifa Akeel-Mangudadatu (3rd from left) gestures the peace sign together with her husband, incumbent Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu (2nd from left), and other clan members following her declaration to run for governor of Sultan Kudarat province on Wednesday (Sept. 29, 2021). Rep. Mangudadatu has earlier been endorsed to run as governor of Maguindanao province. (Photo courtesy of Akeel-Mangudadatu’s FB page)
COTABATO CITY – Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu said Thursday his wife, former beauty queen Sharifa Akeel-Mangudadatu, has his full support as she vies for the gubernatorial post of Sultan Kudarat.
"Yes, my wife has my 100 percent support in her upcoming political bid," he said in an interview with reporters.
Sharifa disclosed her gubernatorial bid just days after her husband was endorsed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's United Bangsamoro Justice Party as its candidate for governor of Maguindanao.
“It’s always the right time when it comes to rendering public service,” said Akeel-Mangudadatu, the 2018 Miss Asia Pacific International, on her Facebook account on Wednesday. “With the same conviction, purpose, and enthusiasm, we are now making our way to start for a change.”
Akeel-Mangudadatu is reportedly challenging her husband’s cousin, incumbent Sultan Kudarat Governor Suharto “Teng” Mangudadatu, who is on his first term as provincial governor.
Suharto’s wife Bai Mariam is the governor of Maguindanao.
Rep. Mangudadatu and his wife are expected to file their certificates of candidacy on the first day of the filing of COCs for the 2022 national and local elections on October 1.
Meanwhile, Suharto was quoted in an interview with local reporters as saying that he has transferred residency and registered as a voter of Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanao as a political career move.
“I want to try politics in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for a change,” he said. "Maybe it is now time to let my father, former Governor Pax Mangudadatu or my son, (Datu Abdullah Sangki) Mayor Pax Ali Mangudadatu, the governorship of Sultan Kudarat.”
Lawyer Paisalin Tago, Maguindanao election supervisor, said until after the COC filing is over, it remains uncertain who is running for what positions in the province. (PNA)
