DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 Sept)—Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said he is optimistic that the ruling of the Supreme Court to exclude his province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will bring better and faster development in Sulu that they have been longing for.
The SC ruling, he said, brings him joy more than his desire to lead the BARMM as chief minister.
Tan was designated to lead the rival coalition party after the composition of the BARMM Grand Coalition, the alliance of political parties that will challenge the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is now leading the interim government of the region.
“We felt exalted as we feel we are free now,” Tan said in vernacular Tausug in a local radio interview of Radyo Pilipinas in Jolo.
“To become chief minister is very temporary. It is only a title and authority that is very temporary, one term for three years or two terms for six years. But what’s more important is the welfare of Sulu, to open for bigger opportunities to grow, protect and enrich its economy.” he said
Tan then vowed to prove that the decision of the majority of his constituents to separate from the Bangsamoro region will bear fruit someday.
During the 2019 plebiscite, Sulu is the only province in the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to vote “No,” yet it was included in the BARMM because of the interpretation that the provinces and cities of ARMM were supposed to vote as one geographical unit.
But the Supreme Court said this interpretation “violates Article X, Section 18 of the Constitution, which states that only provinces, cities, and geographic areas voting favorably in the plebiscite shall be included in the autonomous region.”
Sulu is said to have vast potentials when it comes to gas and oil. A British firm was reported to have proposed to establish a liquefied natural gas refinery plant in the island municipality of Lugus. The Department of Energy, in February 2024, has announced bidding for two “predetermined areas” in the Sulu Sea for oil and gas exploration in over hundreds of thousands of hectares.
Add to this the province’s potential for tourism with its long stretches of white sand beaches, bountiful sea foods and cheap seasonal fruits. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
