President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is confident that the first parliamentary election of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will be successful with the help of local leaders.

“I am confident that the elections will be successful. And by successful, I mean that it will be peaceful. It will be accountable. It will be transparent, everything. All the things, ‘yung gusto natin sa eleksyon na hindi magulo, maliwanag ang resulta, hindi nagkakaproblema,” Marcos said during the BARMM Mayors Conference at the Diamond Hotel in Manila Monday afternoon.

“Minsan mahirap tuparin ‘yun pero talagang pipilitin natin and hopefully this will be the most peaceful one that we have seen yet. But in any case, that is why I asked for all of you to come today, because we are in need of your help. We need for you to be part of the effort that we are putting together. To make the elections a success,” he said.

Marcos urged all stakeholders in Mindanao to seize the opportunity to further develop the region through unity and constructive dialogue, as he highlighted the region’s immense potential.

“Ang daming puwedeng gawin. There’s so much opportunity. And that is why very optimistic ako. Basta tayo magsama-sama. Basta’t tayo’y nagkakaunawaan. Basta’t tayo’y may sistema na ayusin ang mga problema. Basta’t mayroon tayong ganyan at nagkakaintindihan tayo,” Marcos said.

“All of these opportunities here now are available to us. It’s up to us to take advantage, to grab the opportunity. Huwag nating palampasin. The opportunity may never come back. But grab that opportunity now… The only way to do it is to work together and to understand one another,” he stated.

Because of Mindanao’s potentials, huge manufacturing facilities could be put up in the region to provide employment and livelihood to local communities, Marcos said. There are companies eyeing to do business in Mindanao because of existing investments in the province, he said. Presidential News Desk