Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi is a Filipino politician who was mayor of

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato ( Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi: كوتا نو كوتاواتو; Iranun: ''Bandar a Kotawato'', بندر ا كوتاواتو; fil, Lungsod ng Cotabato), is a third class independent c ...

from 2019 to 2022.

Education

Guiani-Sayadi is a lawyer by profession having obtained her law degree at the

University of Mindanao The University of Mindanao is a private, non-sectarian university in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. It is located in Davao City. Established in 1946, the University of Mindanao has ten branches spread over thirteen campuses in So ...

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

Career

First term (2016–2019)

In the 2016 local elections, Guiani-Sayadi was elected as vice mayor of Cotabato City. Her brother, Japal Guiani Jr., was re-elected as mayor for a third term but he died a few months later Guiani Jr. on September 22, 2016 due to cardiac arrest. His sister took over as mayor as per local government succession rules and took oath the following day. She would serve the remaining term of his brother. Guani–Sayadi would continue the policies of her brother while adding her own modification. She aimed to improved the standards of living in her city. She had an iron fist policy in dealing with crime and illegal drug use in the city favoring night patrols or ''ronda'' and implementation of a curfew for minors. She was mayor of Cotabato City when the early 2019 two-round plebiscite which seek to establish the

Bangsamoro ar, منطقة بانجسامورو ذاتية الحكم فى مسلمى مينداناو , native_name = , settlement_type = Autonomous region , anthem = Bangsamoro Hymn , image_skyline ...

autonomous region to be led by the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ar, ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah'') is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro r ...

(MILF). Guani-Sayadi campaign against the inclusion of Cotabato City in the then proposed region but voters favored both the establishment of the new region and the inclusion of the city to it. After the results became known, she publicly expressed intention to file a formal protest to the Commission on Elections.

Second term (2019–2022)

Guani–Sayadi would run in the 2019 elections for mayor. Her bid was successful becoming the first ever woman to be elected as Cotabato City mayor. She vowed to continue her policy against crime, particularly her ronda program. She would take a critical stance against the Bangsamoro regional government. The Bangsamoro regional government has pushed for the formal turnover of Cotabato City to the region as soon as possible while Mayor Guani–Sayadi has formally requested President Rodrigo Duterte to defer the transfer of the city to Bangsamoro until June 30, 2022, when it is expected that the "BARMM bureaucracy would have been fully operational" or the original formal end of the transition period. The ceremonial turnover of the city to the Bangsamoro regional government would take place on December 20, 2020 in which she did not attend. She also opposed the extension of the

transition period The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...

to 2025, when it was still a proposal. She would take part in 2022 elections to secure a second regular term. She filed a disqualification case against her political rival Mohammad Ali Matabalao alleging his campaign of engaging in vote buying Guani–Sayadi would lose to Matabalao. She filed the case before the Commission on Election ''en banc'' but withdrew it and instead filed it with the Second Division which dismissed it for lack of

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

. The city council under Matabalao's administration formally affirmed the 2019 plebiscite which led to Cotabato City's inclusion to the Bangsamoro.

Personal life

Guiani-Sayadi is married to Umbra Sayad and have three children. Her husband works for the National Fire Academy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guiani-Sayadi, Cynthia Mayors of Cotabato City Filipino politicians Women mayors of places in the Philippines 1960s births Living people