Tawi-Tawi governor’s sister-in-law tops 3rd District race for BARMM Parliament
MANILA, Philippines – Rhosatina “Tina” Matolo-De Asis has won Tawi-Tawi’s 3rd District seat in the Bangsamoro Parliament, after results for the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections were officially announced past midnight on Wednesday, September 16.
She is the sister of Sapa-Sapa Mayor Rhodesia Matolo-Sali, who is married to Tawi-Tawi Governor Yshmael Sali. She is also the daughter of former Sapa-Sapa mayor Putli Aisa Sulayman Matolo.
De Asis herself is former municipal administrator of Sapa-Sapa, as well as a pharmacist. She ran under the Bangsamoro Federalist Party.
De Asis defeated three other candidates to secure her spot in the BARMM Parliament, with 31,418 or 71.01% of her district’s votes. This is according to Tawi-Tawi’s total certificates of canvass on the Commission on Elections’ website.
Mali Albrinji, the bet of the BARMM Grand Coalition, ranked second with 8,684 or 19.63% of the votes. He used to be deputy regional manager of the Bangsamoro Ports Management Authority and regional director of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Maritime Industry Authority.
In third is former Tandubas municipal councilor Alnahada Dalagan, the candidate of the Bangsamoro Party and daughter of the late Roxas Salih, the first chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front’s Tawi-Tawi State Revolutionary Committee. She got 2,360 or 5.33% of the votes.
Dayang Rajsidana Kimble Amilbangsa, a nurse and member of the Amilbangsa clan, ran under the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party. She landed in fourth with 1,783 or 4.03% of the votes.
De Asis will serve a special five-year transition term from October 30, 2026, to June 30, 2031. She will be one of the 32 district representatives making up 40% of the 80-seat Bangsamoro Parliament. – Rappler.com
