Politics
Basilan's politics has been dictated by its economics. Whereas only 25% of the island's residents originate from Christian tribes in the Visayas and Luzon, this group owns 70% of the island's arable agricultural land (private ownership or cooperatives as farmer beneficiaries). The Yakan tribe, comprising 41% of the island's population, has full control of local governments outside of Isabela and Lamitan cities. The Tausugs, Samals and Bajaus, forming 30% of the population, control nearly 90% of the island's aquatic harvest, while the minuscule Chinese segment of the population controls nearly 100% of all commodity trading and commerce activities, especially in the bigger cities.
This volatile mix of ethnic and religious groups have defined political realignments in the island for most of its history. The Christian tribes, traditionally allied with the Tausugs, controlled Basilan politics until the 1980s, when the Yakans, aided by their almost absolute control of the hinterlands and the disappearance of the multi-national plantations, scored upset victories in electoral contests starting in 1988.
Of late, a strengthening Yakan-Tausug alliance, brought about by the arrival of the Afghan-Pakistan-based missionary group, the Tableegh, has forged a solid Muslim front.
This political combine has since seen some in-fighting from two of the most formidable power blocks to have formed since the 2004 general elections. Both blocks went head-to-head in the 2007 local elections.
The Akbar block (Liberal Party - Atienza Wing) was led by the late Wahab Akbar, three-term governor and alleged Abu Sayyaf co-founder, together with his wives, and his nephews and nieces, all of whom were rewarded with mayoral posts in all the municipalities as well as Isabela City, which is under his second wife Cherrylyn Santos-Akbar. Jum Jainuddin-Akbar, his first wife, is currently the Governor of Basilan. Wahab Akbar himself was elected congressman.
The Salapuddin block (Lakas-CMD/Kampi) was led by Abdulgani "Gerry" Salapuddin, three-term governor, three-term congressman and two-term Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, with his allies Hajiman Salliman Hataman of Sumisip and his brother, Anak Mindanao Party-list Representative Mujiv Hataman, along with a mix of Tausug and Christian leaders. To them, the 2007 elections proved to be a debacle, as they lost on nearly all fronts save Lamitan City.
Both political coalitions are allied with the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
On November 13, 2007, a few months after being elected congressman, Wahab Akbar was killed by a bomb blast as he was about to leave the Philippines Congress Building in Quezon City. Allegations of being behind the apparent assassination were leveled at Salapuddin and Hataman.
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