PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has handpicked a senior administration lawmaker from Mindanao to join the ruling party’s senatorial bets in 2019, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Sunday.
He said the President described the candidate, Maguindanao Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, as “a steadfast Mindanao pacifist.”
Other leaders of the ruling PDP-Laban party also endorsed Mangudadatu for his sincerity and hard work in pursuing peace in Mindanao, particularly for his role in averting an escalation of violence in the wake of the 2015 Mamasapano clash, Alvarez said.
Mangudadatu, vice chairman of the House committees on Muslim Affairs and Mindanao Affairs, has accepted his party’s endorsement and thanked the President, Alvarez and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III for their trust in him.
“I am humbled by the vote of confidence given to me by PDP-Laban, Speaker Alvarez and President Duterte. I will work hard so that there will be proper representation for Filipino Muslims in the Senate,” he said.
“My main thrust and motivation will be toward a long lasting peace and progress not just in Mindanao but the entire Philippines. I pray and hope that the entire Filipino people will give me the trust and break the barrier of religious beliefs that has hindered long-lasting peace and sustainable progress in our country,” he added.
Mangudadatu, a member of the group that will review and consolidate the four Bangsamoro Basic Law proposals, has authored two measures that have been passed on final reading — House Bill 5707 or “An Act Rightsizing the National Government to Improve Public Service Delivery” and HB 6893 or “An Act Regulating the use of Treatment Technology for Municipal and Hazardous Wastes, Repealing for the Purpose Section 20 of the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999.”
