Talayan, Maguindanao del Sur, May 4, 2025 — A wave of inspiration and unity swept through Mango Grove Resto yesterday, May 3, 2024, as over a thousand leaders from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across Maguindanao del Sur came together for the United for Peace Movers Assembly—a gathering rooted in the vision of peace, justice, and the continued empowerment of the Bangsamoro.
Among the day’s most powerful voices was Member of Parliament Abdulbasit R. Benito, MPSA, who stood before the crowd as a guest speaker. With sincerity and urgency in his tone, MP Benito highlighted the importance of the upcoming May 12, 2025 midterm elections—not just as a political exercise, but as a jihad, a peaceful continuation of the Bangsamoro people’s struggle for the Right to Self-Determination.
“Our vote is our voice,” Benito told the crowd. “It is our way of protecting what we have fought for, and a way of demanding what is still rightfully ours.” He called on the participants to vote wisely—for leaders who will not only preserve the gains of the peace process but will also push for the full implementation of the remaining provisions in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), a landmark pact between the government and the MILF.
The event was also honored by the presence of Vice Governor Datu Nathaniel Midtimbang, who delivered a heartfelt message about his father, Kagi Ali “Datu sa Talayan” Midtimbang. He shared that his father had accepted the call to run as the standard bearer of both the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) and the Partidong Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), not out of ambition, but out of duty.
Chosen personally by the MILF leadership and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Kagi Ali Midtimbang’s mission is clear: to see through the final chapters of the peace process and ensure that the hopes of the Bangsamoro people are not left behind.
The assembly was more than a meeting—it was a moment of renewed commitment, where leaders and communities stood side by side, reminded of their shared journey and their collective responsibility to shape a peaceful and just future for Bangsamoro.