- Turnover of leader at BARMM on Thursday, March 27, 2025
- Ex-BARMM Chief Minister Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim congratulatory message
- BARMM Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal’s own congratulatory message
- New BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua’s reconciliatory message
- Atty. Naguib G. Sinarimbo appointed as BTA member of the Parliament
- MILF Chair Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim declines BTA MP post appointment, says he did not issue resignation letter as Chief Minister
- New BARMM officials took oath of office before the President on March 24, 2025
- EDD K. USMAN | X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News
MANILA (SDN) — The former Bangsamoro chief minister, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Ahod Balawag “Al-Haj Murad” Ebrahim, has sent his warm congratulations to his successor, Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua.
In a separate message, the MILF Peace Implementing Panel (PIP) Chair Mohagher M. Iqbal also congratulated Macacua, the chief of staff of the MILF who during the Mindanao war assumed the nom de guerre “Sammy Gambar”.
In a related development, Ebrahim, commander-in-chief of the MILF which had already shifted to a social movment on September 23, 2024, did not accept his new post as member of the Parliament (MP) of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).
Two days ago, he issued a statement congratulating Macacua, former governor of Maguindanao del Norte, one of the component provinces of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“I warmly congratulate Hon. Abdulraof A. Macacua as he officially assumes as new ICM (interim chief minister) of the BARMM. Personally known to me as ‘Sammy Gambar’, ICM Macacua brings a wealth of experience to this new role,” Ebrahim says.
Expressing support, Iqbal’s own message echoed the former chief minister’s salutation.
“I extend my warmest congratulations to my brother in the (MILF), Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua, on his recent appointment by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. Let me assure you of my support and of the entire Ministery to your administration,” Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, promises.
The MBHTE minister lauded Macacua’s appointment.
“As fellow mujahideen who walked side by side in the struggle for the Bangsamoro’s right to self-determination, your appointment is both a recognition of your leadership and a reminder of the sacred trust placed on us.”
Ebrahim cited the new chief minister for his “leadership and commitment to peace and development in the region are well-documented. I wish him well in his endeavors.”
Recall that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. appointed Ebrahim as one of the many MPs of the BARMM Parliament, along with re-appointed MP Iqbal, the minister of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE).
At the conclusion of his statement, he says: “However, I have decided to respectfully decline said appointment,” after expressing his thanks to the President for “offering me another chance to serve in the Bangsamoro Government.”
Bangsamoro people’s wish: All’s well that ends well among BARMM officials
On the other hand, as president of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the former chief minister assured he will continue to lead the UBJP, the MILF’s political platform, as he holds firmly on “the rope of Allah SWT and steadily seek His guidance.”
Iqbal encouraged the new chief minister to continue working together to improve the Bangsamoro people’s lives, anchored on moral governance as the regional government’s shield and guiding principle.
“We must not — and cannot — fail those who gave their lives in the long struggle so that the Bangsamoro may live in peace, dignity, and freedom.”
I appear that some quarters insinuations of alleged “political tension” would have died and dissipated with the twin messages of acceptance that Ebrahim and Iqbal issued toward their brethren Macacua.
And if there’s any following former Maguindanao del Norte governor’s appointment, the new chief minister was reported to have voiced reconciliatory tone.
“Normal lang ang sakitan ng loob, pero magkapatid kami sa loob ng 54 taon (It’s normal to have hurt feelings. But we are brothers for 54 years). We can always reconcile,” Macacua assures.
Moreover, it was apparent that if there’s any issue raised it is more focused on the fact that the MILF’s 41 nominees for the BTA MPs were not all appointed or reappointed by the President, when it is clear in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) of 2018 that the BARMM transition phase starting in 2019 should be led by the MILF. with only 39 nominees on the government side.
While appointing 36 of the MILF nominees, others were replaced with new appointees.
Last week, a supposed resignation letter of Ebrahim came out social media, but the former BARMM chief minister denied having written to that effect.
Even Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. did not believe it was written by the MILF chair and commander-in-chief.
Meanwhile, the President also appointed as BTA MP the former minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILF), lawyer Naguib G. Sinarimbo.
With him joining the BARMM Parliament, observers were wondering if he would be back to his old haunt, the MILG which he headed from 2019 to December 2023 where he implemented many programs and projects for the Bangsamoro region, a governance performance not easy to surpass, or even matched.
Many of Sinarimbo’s friends and supporters wished well and congratulated him in his new job as they remember his major role in the Bangsamoro peace process, including the drafting of the ill-fated Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and its predecessor, the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
And certainly, the Bangsamoro people are wishing that their leaders set aside their differences and continue working together for peace, security, and economic uplift. (♡)
_________
The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (@)