Tahira Ismael-Sansawi (also Tahira Ismael) (PMP) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

politician and was mayor of

Lantawan Lantawan, officially the Municipality of Lantawan ( Tausūg: ''Lupah Lantawan''; Chavacano: ''Municipalidad de Lantawan''; tgl, Bayan ng Lantawan), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Basilan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan ( cbk, Provincia de Basilan; yka, Wilayah Basilanin; tsg, Wilaya' sin Basilan; fil, Lalawigan ng Basilan), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Reg ...

from 2001 to 2010. She was also the president of the influential Mayors League of Basilan.TERROR WAR DRAWS THIN LINE BETWEEN ISLAM, TERRORISM. Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 31, 2004. She is the niece of slain political leader

Wahab Akbar Ustadz Wahab M. Akbar (April 16, 1960 – November 13, 2007) was a Filipino politician who served three terms as governor of Basilan, during which time he was known for his "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" policy for dealing with kidnappers ...

Background

Tahira is married to Army Captain Sansawi Ismael, a former top

MNLF The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير مورو) is a political organization in the Philippines that was founded in 1972. It started as a splinter group of the Muslim Independence Movement. The M ...

officer and now a military integree. Her brother is a policeman in Basilan.

Political Activity

In 2002, as mayor, Ismael accused the Philippine military of killing three civilians in a mistaken counterterrorism operation targeting Abu Sayyaf bandits on Dasalan island off Basilan. Ismael identified the victims as Imam Santa Sala, 60; his wife Salama Ambang, 58; and Isnawi Ingagal, 38. "Your men killed innocent civilians, and you have the nerve to declare they are Abu Sayyaf!" Ismael told Col. Renato Miranda, chief of the 2nd Marine Brigade, during a Crisis Management Committee meeting in Isabela City. Ismael was re-elected for a third and final term as mayor in 2007, with a lead of 3,000 votes out of a total of 7,079 cast in her favor. After the death of Wahab Akbar in mid-2007, she contested the vacant seat but was opposed by others in the Akbar clan. In the midst of counterterrorism operations in 2007, Ismael sought a greater role for local government units (LGUs) in the province to pursue the suspects behind the July 10, 2007 attack that killed numerous marines. "This is Basilan and we know who these people are," Ismael said as she proposed to let the LGUs reactivate their barangay intelligence system in aid of arresting the suspects.Mainstream MNLF forces "not adversaries" - Philippine military chief. BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, August 13, 2007.

References

Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians Living people Mayors of places in Basilan Filipino Muslims Year of birth missing (living people) {{Philippines-politician-stub