Samira Gutoc-Tomawis

Early life and education Samira Gutoc's father, Candidato Gutoc, was a diplomatic officer who rose through the ranks. As a result, Samira spent much of her childhood in Saudi Arabia, where her father was posted, before she went on to study at the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman) for college.

Bangsamoro Transition Commission On February 10, 2017, Gutoc was appointed by the Rodrigo Duterte administration as a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission tasked to draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law. However, she resigned on May 29 that year, citing her disapproval of the government's handling of the Marawi siege, the declaration of martial law, and Duterte's joke that he would take the blame for soldiers who commit rape during martial law.

Senate electoral campaign 2019 election On October 11, 2018, Gutoc-Tomawis announced and filed her candidacy for senator for the May 2019 election. She was a member of the political ensemble Otso Diretso, a Liberal Party-led opposition coalition against the Duterte administration. However, the whole ticket failed to secure a seat in Senate.

She signaled her agenda for peace education, divorce, Muslim rights, women's rights, and children's rights. She is against the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility and has taken the position against the ongoing martial law in Mindanao.

On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against Gutoc and other members of the Otso Diretso electoral for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice". The accused including Gutoc, were alleged to be linked to "The Real Narcolist" video series of Bikoy which the PNP-CIDG said contained "false information" meant to rally people against the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and ensure Leni Robredo's acension to the vice presidency.

2022 election

Gutoc-Tomawis joined Aksyon Demokratiko on August 9, 2021, and was made part of its national executive board. She was admitted to the party as a representative of Filipino Muslims, the marginalized, and women. According to Gutoc, she joined the party because she is a fan of Aksyon's founder Raul Roco and his Agenda of Hope manifesto. On October 3, she filed her candidacy for the 2022 Senate election. She was also named as a guest candidate of the Labor and Ecology Advocates for Democracy (LEAD) senatorial slate of another presidential aspirant Leody de Guzman. However, she lost once again, ranking 39th.

Marawi siege Gutoc-Tomawis was a resident of Marawi when the 2017 Marawi siege took place.

Organizations During the 2017 Marawi siege, Gutoc-Tomawis established Ranao Rescue Team, a volunteer group that helps civilians displaced by the Battle of Marawi offering relief missions to civilians.

Other affiliations Gutoc-Tomawis currently writes the column "A Girl From Marawi" that comes out every Saturday on The Philippine Business and News.

She also anchors The Voice and The Voiceless at the Filipinos World in partnership with The Manila Times and Mafe Management Consultancy.

Electoral history

Awards Cited as one of the World's Most Influential Muslims - The Muslim 500 by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 2019 The Outstanding Women in Nation's Service Awardee for Peace Advocacy by TOWNs Foundation. 2018 United Nations Development Programme N-Peace Awardee for Activism. 2001 The Outstanding Youngmen (TOYM) Honoree for Youth Development by JCI Philippines.