A COALITION of Bangsamoro parties is set to support Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan as the chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the Bangsamoro Parliamentary elections in May 2025.
The parties under Tan's BARMM Grand Coalition: Salaam Party, the Bangsamoro People Party (BPP), the Al Ittihad-UKB Party and the Serbisyong Inklusibo Alyansang Progresibo (SIAP) Party agreed to support the governor if their representatives win the required number of seats needed to form a majority government.
The coalition's choice of Tan as chief minister was made by Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, one of the founders of the BPP, during the general assembly of the Salaam Party-BGC in Maimbung, Sulu.
"The coalition has come to a consensus that it will be backing Gov. Sakur Tan for the position of chief minister in the Bangsamoro Parliament because the BGC believes he is more than qualified to hold the post," Hataman said.
Hataman said the decision to endorse Tan was made after meetings and consultations with officials and members of all political parties, nongovernment organizations and civil society groups that comprise the BGC.
Tan thanked the officials and members of the coalition, saying that he appreciated the confidence granted to him by the members of the BARMM local governments.
"Iisa ang ating adhikain: ang isang mapayapa, maunlad at masaganang Bangsamoro region na may paggalang sa karapatan ng lahat ng sektor na bibigyan ng boses sa pamahalaan (We have one goal: to have a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Bangsamoro region with the respect to all sectors that the government will hear)," Tan said.
The BGC was formed earlier this year when leaders of the four major political parties in BARMM met and agreed to form an alliance that would push the principles of peace and unity.
Hataman said the coalition believed that Tan's leadership in BARMM could realize its principles of equitable representation in the Bangsamoro government that would serve all citizens regardless of religion and ethnicity.