MANILA – Maguindanao Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu vowed to be the voice of Muslims as he filed his candidacy for senator on Monday.
“Sinabihan ako ni President (Rodrigo) Duterte na tumakbo dahil kailangan ang representative ng Muslim sa Senado,” Mangudadatu told reporters after filing his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Manila.
He added that one of his advocacies is for Filipinos to be united despite religious differences.
“Ang isang hinahangad sa advocacy natin kung paano magkaisa ang sambayanang Pilipino. Hindi kailangan ngayon na magkaroon tayo ng bangayan. (We are pushing for an advocacy on uniting the Filipinos. We should not have disagreements.) Let us break the barriers between the Muslims and Christians,” he said.
Mangudadatu is running under Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
Also on Monday, re-electionist Senator Cynthia Villar also filed her COC.
Villar said her programs will be the same when she first ran for senator in 2013.
“I’ve always worked for the building of livelihood projects, especially for poor people. So it is an advocacy for me, not a campaign line,” she added.
Villar, who is seeking a second term in the Senate, is running under the Nationalista Party. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
