A lawyer-accountant now leads the Royal House of Rumayas

Sultan Atty. Mimbalawag T. Mangutara, Jr.

BARIRA, Maguindanao --- The Royal House of Rumayas,  led by Sultan Abedin Pacalna and Barira former mayor Sultan Abdulrajack Tomawis, has enthroned Atty. Mimbalawag Tomawis Mangutara, Jr., CPA as the new Sultan sa Rumayas.

The enthronement was held at the gymnasium in Barangay Poblacion Barira  last November 28.

The newly enthroned Sultan Atty. Mimbalawag Tomawis Mangutara, Jr., CPA  is the son of the late Sultan sa Barira and District Supervisor Mimbalawag Morog Mangutara, Sr. and Bailabi sa Iranun, Hadja Sittie Raiza Tomawis Mangutara, the outgoing Bailabi sa Rumayas.

In his talk, the new Sultan sa Rumayas said: “First and foremost, I would like to thank  all of my relatives and the entire  clan  of  the Rumayas for their unanimous decision  in choosing and enthroning me as the 3rd Sultan sa Rumayas. Thank you so much for the trust and confidence entrusted upon me as a leader in the entire community of the Royal House of Rumayas. Being a sultan or a community leader is not an easy task  because this title is a pro-bono, meaning no budget allocated. And this role is a challenge in leadership as  Sultan sa Rumayas.”

“The role of a sultan in the community is very challenging and it is more on leadership. Why? Because this organization has no budget intended for the needs of the community members.  All of us here work voluntarily without any resource coming from the national government…  not like in the local government unit that has a monthly budget allocation intended for their plans, programs and projects, and for their basic social services because they have their own monthly Internal Revenue Allotment,” he further said.

For choosing me as a sultan,  he said: “I’ll do my best to do and work as an effective Sultan sa Rumayas in terms of leadership. My goal, as of now, is uniting our  community members as one clan.”

He said some problems have to be settled, citing the family feuds in the community, by collaborating with the local government officials as well as the barangay leadership.

He said the sultanate can augment resources, including manpower, to help sustain the peace and order in the  community by adopting the paradigm of the peace process and seeking alternativesto keep pace with development challenges.

For more than many decades, he said the Sultan of Rumayas has governed the Sultanate Royal House and modern leadership has to be clothed with much dynamism because it is supposed to be people-oriented.

A sultan, he asserted, should have a morale ascendancy with a statesmanship potential because the seat has administrative and governance functionalities.

“Sa matagal na panahon, wala pong pagbabago ng leadership dahil yung unang sultan ay nanungkulan dito ng mahabang panahon yung ating napalitan na sultan. At sana, this time around, although medyo bata pa tayo, maging katuwang tayo tulad ng ating mga barangay opisyal at lalo na mga local government opisyal. Kung merong mga problema na dapat harapin, dun sa mga barangay na napapaloob sa Sultan ng Rumayas,” he said.

“First na gagawin ko is unity, then seguro peace and order, although dito sa community maayos naman ang lahat. Pero di natin maiwasan na meron pa rin sa ibang community na maaring hindi iisa ang aming pinagmulan. So, yun ang aking aayusin na magkaroon ng bridge at magkaroon ng boses ang bawat isa na tayo ay magkaisa at magkakasama at mapangunahan natin ang ating mga kamag-anak,” he explained.

“Alam mo, kung pag-uusapan natin ang sultanate, kagaya ng dito sa amin, ang Sultanate ng Rumayas at nakatira dito ay iisa lang ang pinagmulan, katulad ng Basagan. Kaming lahat magkakaisa sa pagpapalakas ng samahan, pagtutulungan, at pagbibigay ng importansiya doon sa ralasyon ng bawat isa, dahil yun ang pinaka-importante. Dahil kung maganda ang peace and order mas maganda din ang samahan ng bawat isa sa community. At wala tayong magiging problema dun sa mga sigalot na maaring magdulot ng hindi maganda sa ating community. At yung magandang pagpapatakbo ng sultanate at yung presence lagi ng isang sultanate,” he stressed.

He said it is a challenge to bring the members  of the clan together and there is no compelling reason why unity can not be forged in pursuit of the community’s common goal.  “So, ang pinag-usapan dito, kagaya din ng sinabi ng dating mayor ng Barira, na maging effective tayo na leader dahil nakikita ko sa aking mga kasamahan na hindi sila mahirap kausapin at magiging katuwang tayo sa ating local government sa pagsulonng ng kapayapaan at katahimikan  dito sa aming community.”

The Sultanate of Rumayas, as of now, is not yet a member or an affiliate of the Sultanate League of the Royal Houses. It has yet to be formalized as a member of the league. “Dahil kapag member ka na ng Royal House, marami kang sultanate na mamumuno, so, bale yun ang priority ko sa ngaun…  na maging bahagi tayo ng isang malaking organization. Although bahagi na tayo dati, pero at least hindi lang tayo ma-belong dun sa ibang sultanate or Royal house, but physically magkaroon tayo ng identity at sariling  Royal Sultanate House of Rumayas.”

The  Sultanate of Rumayas started with the first mayor of Barira, the late Hadji Abubakar Tomawis who earned a name and became the town’s leader. It was the time  when keeping the peace was a big challenge and a top priority in transforming the community. He was regarded as a peace advocate, even as far as Lanao del Sur. Because of his contribution to the peace effort, he became the first Sultan sa Rumayas.

When Abubakar Tomawis emerged again as the mayor, he relinquished the role as a sultan and transferred the responsibility and obligation  to his nephew, former councilor Hadji Suwaib Pendatu, who died last year.

“So, dito nagkaroon ng pagpupulong yung buong angkan ng Basagan, na panahon na upang magkaroon tayo ng katuwang sa buong angkan ng Rumayas, upang makapagbigay ng leadership na mamumuno sa sa buong angkan at ako ang kanilang napili. Lalo na sa decendants ni Basagan, dahil si Basagan ay isa sa kanyang anak ay naging asawa ni Tomawis. So, ito na kami ngaun at ang former mayor at ang mayor ngaun. At si Bayamba na anak naman ni Basagan,’ the new sultan further narrated.

Atty. Mangutara said it is his plan and the family to give an “extent  of period” in the holdship of   sultanate leadership  “para marami ring  makasubok na maging sultan dito sa Rumayas.”

Qualification of being a Sultan, the most important is “meron kang moral ascendancy sa mga tao na iyong pamumunuan at magkaroon ng unanimous or unified decision ng bawat nasasakupan ng iyong sultanate na ikaw ang ituro nila at kailangan din ng sapat na resources upang mapamunuan mo ang iyong community na sa kabila ng lahat meron ka pa ring leadership. I think yan ang essence ng pagiging sultan. Meron kang leadership, statesmanship na kahit sino you can deal with all the people within your sultanate at yung nakatira sa mga barangays at lugar na iyong pinamumunuan,” he said. (Anne Acosta)