GUBERNATORIAL ASPIRANTS. Maguindanao del Sur Governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu (left) displays her certificate of candidacy for the 2025 midterm elections after filing at the Commission on Elections office in Buluan on Monday (Oct. 7, 2024). Former Talayan Mayor Ali Midtimbang (right) is challenging her for the position. (Photos from Facebook Pages of Mangudadatu and Midtimbang)
COTABATO CITY – Maguindanao del Sur Governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu officially filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) on Monday, seeking her first elected term as governor of the newly established province in the 2025 midterm elections.
Mangudadatu, who served as the 11th and first female governor of the undivided Maguindanao province from 2019 until its division in late 2022, was appointed as governor of Maguindanao del Sur by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following a local plebiscite on Sept. 17, 2022.
Accompanied by a large group of supporters, Mangudadatu submitted her COC at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur. Her running mate is Benzar Ampatuan, the incumbent vice mayor of Mamasapano town.
In the same province, Maguindanao del Sur's lone district Representative Mohammad Paglas Sr. filed his COC, seeking a second term in the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Mangudadatu’s gubernatorial bid is being challenged by former Talayan Mayor Ali Midtimbang, who is running under the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP). Midtimbang’s running mate is Sheikh Hisham Khalifa Nando, son of the late Bangsamoro Wali Sheikh Khalifa Nando.
In neighboring Maguindanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat Mayor Tucao Mastura is the official gubernatorial candidate of UBJP-MILF and PFP. His vice gubernatorial running mate is Marshall Sinsuat, the outgoing mayor of Datu Blah Sinsuat town.
Mastura will be up against former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Suharto Mangudadatu, who is vying for the position currently held by appointed Maguindanao del Norte Governor Abdulraof Macacua. Mangudadatu’s running mate is Bai Ainee Sinsuat, the former vice governor of the undivided Maguindanao province. (PNA)
