Abdusakur "Sakur" Mahail Tan (born July 13, 1950 in

Maimbung Maimbung, officially the Municipality of Maimbung ( Tausūg: Kawman sin Maimbung; ), is a municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 59,597 people. It was the seat of the Sultanate of ...

) is a Filipino politician and current governor of

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago. It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...

in the

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM; ; ), is an Autonomous regions of the Philippines, autonomous region in the Philippines, located in the southwestern portion of the island of Mindanao. Replacin ...

. He previously served as the Vice Governor of Sulu.

Background

Tan is of Chinese- Tausug descent and was born on July 13, 1950, in

, Sulu, the eldest child of Abubakar Tan (former mayor of Maimbung) and Satriya Mahail. He attended high school at the Notre Dame of Jolo for Boys and obtained a bachelor's degree in 1983 from the

Notre Dame of Jolo College Notre Dame of Jolo College is private school run by Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Jolo, Sulu, Philippines, founded on June 14, 1954 by Bishop Francis McSorley, OMI. in order to bring educational benefits to the people of Sulu Province. ...

. He is married to Nurunisah Abubakar-Tan, former Vice Governor of Sulu (daughter of former

Jolo Jolo () is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has a populatio ...

mayor Habib Aminkandra N. Abubakar) and has five children.

Political career

Tan established a political base in Jolo by aligning himself with the Abubakar and Isquerdo families. He served first as a municipal councilor of

(1981–87), then as the representative of

's first congressional district (1987–1992) and as governor (1996–2001). He lost the 2001 election to MNLF leader

Yusop Jikiri Yusop (also Yusoph) Jikiri (1954 – October 17, 2020) was a Filipino politician, leader within the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and governor (2001–2004) of Sulu Province in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). He also serv ...

but won the governorship a second time in 2007 with 110,715 votes. In 2010 he won re-election, beating rivals Munir Arbison and

Nur Misuari Nur Misuari ( Tausug: ''Nūr Miswāri'', born Nurallaji Pinang Misuari; March 3, 1939) is a Moro Filipino revolutionary and politician, founder and leader of the Moro National Liberation Front. Early and personal life Nur Misuari was born on ...

by over 24,000 votes.

2010 Zamboanga City airport bombing

Tan was among 12 persons injured when an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(IED) exploded at the arrival area of

Zamboanga International Airport Zamboanga International Airport () is the main airport serving Zamboanga City in the Philippines. Located on a site in Barangay Canelar, Zamboanga City, the airport is Mindanao's third-busiest airport after Francisco Bangoy International Airp ...

in August 2010. The attack was suspected to target Tan himself. The explosion occurred a few days after a suspected member of the regional terrorist group

Jemaah Islamiyah Jemaah Islamiyah (, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) was a Southeast Asian Islamist militant group based in Indonesia, which was dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic state in ...

(JI), Edgar Malaydan, was arrested in Monkayo,

Compostela Valley Davao de Oro, officially the Province of Davao de Oro (; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Nabunturan while Monkayo is the most populous. It used to be part of the province of Davao del ...

2025 Bangsamoro election

On May 18, 2024, Tan announced that he would forego another term as governor in the 2025 local election and challenge

Murad Ebrahim Ahod Balawag Ebrahim (; Jawi: احد بلاوݢ ابرهیم; born May 15, 1949), better known as Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, is a Moro Filipino politician and former rebel leader who served as the first chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous ...

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of the

Bangsamoro Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM; ; ), is an autonomous region in the Philippines, located in the southwestern portion of the island of Mindanao. Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Minda ...

in the concurrent

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

during a rally in

. He received support from the BARMM Grand Coalition composed of the Serbisyong Inklusibo-Alyansang Progresibo Party, Al-Ittihad–UKB Party, Tan’s Salam Party, and the Bangsamoro People's Party. Tan presumably became ineligible to run for chief minister after the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled on September 9, 2024 that

was not part of the BARMM due to a majority of its voters choosing not to join the region in a 2019 plebiscite. Tan and his son, Abdusakur Tan II, had previously opposed Sulu's inclusion into the BARMM, with the latter, in his capacity as governor of Sulu, filing the petition that led to the Supreme Court decision. Tan welcomed the Supreme Court ruling despite its implication on his Chief Minister bid, believing that the province's exclusion from the autonomous region would be beneficial economically in the long run.

References

External links

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Biography
at the League of Provinces of the Philippines {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Abdusakur Mahail Lakas–CMD politicians Filipino Muslims Governors of Sulu Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Sulu 1950 births People from Sulu Living people Tausūg people