Toto Mangudadatu’s new wife vies for Governor in Sultan Kudarat

SULTAN KUDARAT PROVINCE – A POLITICAL newbie, who just got married to Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, is vying for gubernatorial post in her home province, Sultan Kudarat, in the May 2022 local elections and national elections.



Former beauty queen Sharifa Akeel-Mangudadatu, according to reports obtained by MDNN research department, has the full support of his husband, one of the political kingpins in Maguindanao, a Muslim-dominated province, which has always been marred by election-related violence in the past years.



Just this week, a vice mayoralty candidate was ambushed by still unidentified assailants, and the police are still having a blank wall as to masterminded the attack. The Vice-mayoralty candidate has survived the ambuscade but his trusted bodyguard was among those who died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds in the different parts of their bodies.  



“Yes, my wife has my 100 percent support in her upcoming political bid,” Former Governor Mangudadatu said in a live interview with reporters.



Sharifa announced her political plans just after her husband Rep Toto Mangudadatu was endorsed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party, as their official candidate.



Akeel-Mangudadatu said: “It’s always the right time when it comes to rendering public service,” said Akeel-Mangudadatu, the 2018 Miss Asia Pacific International, adding that “with the same conviction, purpose, and enthusiasm, we are now making our way to start for a change.”



Toto’s wife was reportedly challenging his husband’s cousin, Suharto “Teng” Mangudadatu, who is on his first term as provincial governor.



Suharto’s wife Bai Mariam is the incumbent governor of Maguindanao in the province.



The MDNN learned that Congressman Toto Mangudadatu and his wife are expected to file their certificates of candidacy on October 1, the first day of the filing of certificates of candidacies, for the May 22 local and national elections.



Meanwhile, Suharto is reported to have started his luck in some other areas in the province. It was learned that Suharto has transferred residency and registered as a voter in Datu Abdullah Sangki town, as a new career move.



“I want to try politics in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for a change,” Suharto said. “Maybe it is now time to let my father, former Governor Pax Mangudadatu or my son, (Datu Abdullah Sangki) Mayor Pax Ali Mangudadatu, the governorship of Sultan Kudarat.”