FOR PEACEFUL ELECTIONS. Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. speaks to Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan candidates before the aspirants signed the “wall of commitment” in Barangay Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Maguindanao del Sur on Saturday (Oct. 14, 2023). Abalos urged the candidates to exercise humility in victory and for losers to accept defeat and work with the winners. (Photo courtesy of Sec. Abalos Facebook)
DATU ANGGAL MIDTIMBANG, Maguindanao Sur – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. urged candidates in the Oct. 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to exercise humility in victory and offer reconciliation to their rivals.
Abalos, accompanied by Maguindanao Sur Gov. Bai Mariam Sangki Mangudadatu and Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-BARMM) chief Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, led a covenant signing here Saturday, aimed at ensuring a peaceful and safe BSKE in the province.
“To the winners, be humble, and offer your hand of peace. For those who will not make it, respect the people’s will and accept defeat then support the chosen ones,” Abalos told all the BSKE candidates from Maguindanao del Sur’s 24 municipalities.
Abalos said a “violence-free” BSKE is always possible.
“No violence should be used. There should also be no vote-buying. Can you do it?” he asked as the enthusiastic crowd agreed.
All candidates in attendance affixed their signatures to the “wall of commitment.”
“This is a covenant of no violence we are signing,” Abalos said.
Earlier, PRO-BARMM officials briefed Abalos on the pre-BSKE situation.
“I ask all of you candidates to work for a peaceful BSKE. After the election, you will still be living in the same villages and many are relatives after all,” Mangudadatu said, adding that some of the candidates are fathers, brothers, and sisters pitted against each other.
In an ambush interview, Abalos said his office and the Philippine National Police are now finalizing the list of villages with unopposed candidates in BARMM and adjacent Soccsksargen Region in Central Mindanao.
“This is intended for the redeployment of peacekeepers and police personnel in areas listed as hotspots,” he said.
The campaign period will be from Oct. 19 to 28. (PNA)
