The second-highest official of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Parliament Speaker Pangalian Balindong, rejoined his Creator at about 1 a.m. Thursday at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Makati City due to an undisclosed illness, his family and regional officials announced.
Balindong was 85 years old.
Balindong, who has led the interim regional legislature since its creation in 2019, would also be buried on Thursday in Lanao del Sur.
BARMM interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua said the regional government mourns the passing of Balindong, the second-highest leader of the Bangsamoro transition government.
‘He was more than a leader-he was a guiding light whose wisdom, humility, and dedication touched the lives of many. His legacy of service to the Bangsamoro will live on in our hearts,’ Macacua said in a statement.
Member of Parliament Naguib Sinarimbo described Balindong as ‘an important pillar of the Bangsamoro struggle who waged it both in and out of government.’
He said Balindong was a pioneering lawyer, together with fellow lawyer Zacaria Candao, in providing legal assistance to the Moro liberation movements.
The Meranaw lawmaker is the eldest son of Sultan Amer Macaorao Balindong, former mayor of the Municipality of Malabang, and Hajjatu Maimona Marohom Balindong.
He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1966 from Manuel L. Quezon University and passed the bar examinations the following year.
A delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention representing the lone district of Lanao del Sur in 1971, Balindong is also a member of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa).
He served as legal counsel of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in its peace talks with the government in Libya.
Balindong attended numerous international conventions and conferences on Muslim Filipinos in the Southern Philippines.
He was an assemblyman of the defunct autonomous region from 1993 to 1995 and was later elected as a member of the House of Representatives in the 10th Congress, representing Lanao del Sur’s second district, replacing Sultan Ali Dimaporo.