‘Rido’ grips Bangsamoro campaign trail, displaces thousands

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—The campaign period for the historic Bangsamoro parliamentary elections has been marred by recurring “rido,” or clan feuds, that have so far displaced around 2,000 residents, an independent peace monitor said.

Political parties, single parliamentary district candidates and sectoral aspirants began the 45-day campaign period on July 30, which will run until Sept. 12.

At least 2.3 million voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will elect 80 members of Parliament—40 political party representatives, 32 single-district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.

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In its “Boto Mo Bangsamoro” Bulletin No. 2, covering July 30 to Aug. 12, Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) cited long-standing rido involving “politico-military” actors, or politicians with armed bodyguards and other armed groups, as among the major threats to the peaceful, orderly and credible conduct of the first parliamentary elections in BARMM.

The peace monitor also warned that political assassinations and devastating floods could disrupt the elections.

The warning about political assassinations came after still-unidentified armed men ambushed the convoy of Bangsamoro interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua on Saturday in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.

Macacua, who was unharmed, had just attended a political gathering of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party, where he was sworn in as its president and chairperson.

In July, floods brought by the southwest monsoon, or “habagat” and Typhoon “Inday” (international name: Bavi) affected at least 500,000 Bangsamoro residents in the mainland provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur. The BARMM also includes the island provinces of Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.

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Firefight

With the campaign underway and less than a month before election day, CCAA recorded at least 10 gun-related incidents within the two-week monitoring period in parts of the Bangsamoro region.

A fierce firefight broke out on Aug. 4 in Kadayangan municipality in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area (SGA), allegedly due to an ongoing feud between the mayor of Nabalawag, also in the SGA and a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander.

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“The clashes displaced approximately 1,850 residents—many of whom had previously evacuated and have yet to return home,” Louise Marie Lara, CCAA communications manager, said.

While the clash stemmed from an older feud, both armed factions have aligned themselves with rival political parties, severely chilling local campaign activities and raising fears among voters.

On Aug. 5, another gun battle erupted in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao del Sur, between families linked to the village chief of Barangay Tugal and a former MILF commander.

Residents caught in the crossfire faced a compounded humanitarian crisis as they fled through floodwaters, the watchdog said.

Across BARMM, 27 areas were placed under the red category because of serious security threats, according to the Commission on Elections.