BARMM polls: Who are the bets for Lanao del Sur’s 9 seats?
CEBU, Philippines – Thirty-three candidates are vying for seats in the nine parliamentary districts of Lanao del Sur in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The candidates have until September 12 to campaign in their respective districts. The province has 1,164 barangays and 727,634 registered voters, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) data as of May 8.
Here are the electoral races in Lanao del Sur’s nine districts:
1st District: Marawi businessmen, scholars, and dynasty
The first parliamentary district of Lanao del Sur encompasses the City of Marawi, the province’s capital.
The Progresibong Bangsamo Party (PRO BM), led by Member of Parliament Don Mustapha Loong, is fielding systems engineer Nhazrudin Dimakuta Dianalan, the son of former Marawi City mayor Sultan Omar Marohom Dianalan, for Lanao del Sur’s first district seat.
Also in the electoral race is Princess Pala Gandamra, the bet of Serbisyong Inklusibo-Alyansang Progresibo Party (SIAP), which is led by Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr.. The governor’s son, Lanao del Sur Vice Governor Mohammad Khalid Adiong, is the SIAP president.
Gandamra is a physician and a former councilor of Marawi. She is the wife of Marawi Vice Mayor Majul Gandamra, and the mother of Marawi Mayor Shariff Gandamra and Councilor Mohammad Shaquille Gandamra.
Also in the race is businessman Abdul Aziz Barazar Macalangun Jr. of the Bangsamoro Party (BAPA), led by former Cotabato City mayor and BARMM Labor Minister Muslimin Sema.
Meanwhile, the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), has fielded Abdulrahman Mardan Taher, a scholar with a doctorate degree in sustainable development studies and public administration.
There are two who are running as independent bets for Lanao del Sur’s 1st district parliamentary seat — businessman Rolly Tomawis and Almen Diron Pangandaman, the father of former Budget and Management secretary Amenah Pangandaman.
2nd District: Ex-mayor, ex-lawmaker, and ex-barangay chair
The second parliamentary district covers the towns of Saguiaran, Piagapo, Marantao and Kapai.
Former Kapai mayor Hamza Gauraki is the UBJP’s bet for the parliamentary seat. The Gauraki clan is an influential family in Kapai. Gauraki’s wife, Aidah, is the incumbent mayor of the town.
Gauraki is facing SIAP bet Alexander Alonto Jr., PRO BM’s Samanudin Bazer, and independent candidate Salahuden Edres.
Alonto is a former provincial board member of the Lanao del Sur who once headed the agriculture and fisheries department of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Bazer is a former barangay chairman of Radapan in Piagapo and a former Piagapo municipal councilor.
Meanwhile, Edres is a mechanical engineer from Kapai.
3rd District: Adiong son, 2 former MPs, and ex-barangay chair
The third parliamentary district covers the municipalities of Ditsaan-Ramain, Bubong, Buadiposo-Buntong, Maguing and Tagoloan.
Abdul Rauf Adiong is representing the SIAP in this district. Also coming from the influential Adiong clan of Lanao del Sur, Abdul is the grandson of the late former Lanao del Sur governor Mamintal Adiong Sr..
Abdul’s father is Ditsaan-Ramain Mayor Ansaruddin Abdul Malik Alonto Adiong and his uncle is SIAP leader and Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr..
Representing UBJP is Jamel Ditucalan Macaraya. The UBJP bet served as a member of parliament until 2022. He also served as a board member of the Bangsamoro Development Agency.
Also in the 3rd district race are independent candidates Sittie Saleha Mangurun and Edrieza Rimbang.
Mangurun is the former barangay chairperson of Malinao in Tagoloan while Rimbang is a former member of parliament.
4th District: deputy speaker, ex-mayor, engineer, and administrator
The fourth district comprises the towns of Masiu, Poona-Bayabao, Tamparan, Taraka, and Mulondo.
BARMM Parliament Deputy Speaker Amenodin Sumagayan is in the electoral race as SIAP’s candidate for the fourth district parliamentary seat. Sumagayan is a lawyer and the former mayor of Taraka.
Sumagayan’s wife, Nashiba Gandamra-Sumagayan, is the incumbent mayor of Taraka, while his son, Mohammad Aquil Gandamra-Sumagayan, is the vice mayor of Taraka.
PRO BM’s bet is engineer Camal Abdul, who comes from a long line of traditional leaders with ties to the Ditual and Disomimba clans. Abdul previously served as a barangay official and as a worker in the offices of the provincial administrator of Lanao del Sur and the Bureau of Immigration.
Former Poona-Bayabao mayor Lampa Pandi is running under the banner of the UBJP. Pandi is a physician and a former assistant regional secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) of the now-defunct ARMM.
Johari Comadug is also in the electoral race as an independent candidate. Comadug was an administrator of the Sagonsongan Transitory Shelter — one of many temporary shelters built for families displaced during the 2017 Marawi Siege.
5th District: Clan heads and ex-election supervisor
The fifth district includes the towns of Butig, Lumbayanague, Lumbatan, Sultan Dumalondong, Lumbaca-Unayan, Marogong, and Tubaran.
Arimao Asum, a former vice mayor of Lumbayanague, is joining the district parliamentary race as the bet of SIAP. Asum is the father of incumbent Lumbayanague Mayor Jamal Asum and the husband of Vice Mayor Salamona Asum.
Under the banner of UBJP is former Tubaran mayor Khaledyassin Papandayan who comes from the influential Papandayan clan of Tubaran. His father is former Lanao del Sur 2nd District representative Mauyag Papandayan Jr. and his mother is incumbent Tubaran Mayor Raida Dimaporo Papandayan.
Udtog Tago is the lone independent candidate in the district. Tago, an engineer and a lawyer, previously served as a provincial election supervisor in Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and the once-undivided Maguindanao. He was also former dean at the Mindanao State University College of Engineering.
6th District: Shari’ah counselor and ex-officials
The towns of Pagayawan, Ganassi, Binidayan, Bayang, and Pualas will be voting for their representative in the sixth parliamentary district of Lanao del Sur.
Jamael Balt, a former vice mayor of Bayang, is seeking the district seat under the UBJP. Balt is a former member of the Peace and Order Committee during the term of former Lanao del Sur governor Mostaqbal Manalao.
Balt is the son of the late Bajunaid Balt, a former provincial board member of the previously undivided Lanao.
Moamar Cabugatan, a shari’ah counselor-at-law with a doctorate in humanities and master’s degrees in public administration and Islamic law, is representing PRO BM.
Also in the electoral race is Hosni Macapodi, SIAP’s bet. Macapodi is a former mayor of Ganassi and a former representative of the second district of Lanao del Sur to the Lower House.
7th District: Ex-mayors and ex-SK chairman
The seventh district includes the municipalities of Madamba, Madalum, Bacolod-Kalawi, Tugaya, and Balindong.
UBJP’s bet for the district’s parliamentary seat is Nora Dipatuan, a former mayor of Bacolod-Kalawi. Her husband, Sultan Diarangan Dipatuan, was also a former mayor of Bacolod-Kalawi.
SIAP’s bet is Ali-usman Sarangani Mindalano, a former Sangguniang Kabataan chairman in Madamba. The Mindalano clan are an influential family in Madamba — both mayor and vice mayor of Madamba are Mindalanos.
Independent candidates Cardawi Mindalano Macasilang, an engineer, and former Madalum mayor Usman Mindalano Sarangani Jr., are also in the electoral race.
8th District: MP and youth leader
In the eighth district, there are only two candidates vying for the parliamentary seat — UBJP bet Ahmad Amir Balindong and independent candidate Saipoden Torayas.
Balindong was appointed as a member of the Bangsamoro parliament by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in March 2025. He served as a vice chairperson of the committee on agriculture, fisheries and agrarian reform and committee on environment, natural resources and energy.
The MP comes from the Balindong political dynasty which traces its roots back to the late Sultan Amer Macaorao Balindong, former mayor of Malabang in Lanao del Sur, the father of the late Bangsamoro parliament speaker Pangalian Balindong.
Torayas is a youth leader and the head of the Singanen ago Panginam o Moro Youth Organization.
The eighth district covers the towns of Calanogas, Malabang, Picong, Balabagan, and Kapatagan.
9th District: MP, Islamic scholar, and ex-councilor
The ninth district encompasses the municipalities of Wao, Amai Manabilang, and Lumba-Bayabao.
Anwar Galo-lamping is in the race under the banner of the UBJP. He is a former municipal councilor in Lumba-Bayabao and a former vice president of the Philippine Councilors’ League in Lanao del Sur.
The bet of BAPA in the district is Jalal Abdul Bayabao, who serves as the president of the Lalabuan Islamic Institute.
BARMM Member of Parliament Rashdi Adiong, an engineer, is in the electoral race as well, running as the bet of SIAP. He comes from the influential Alonto-Adiong clan. – Rappler.com
