Featured image above shows BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua (3rd, right) and NCMF Secretary Sabuddin N. Abdurahim (4th, left). Flanking them from extreme right are NCMF Commissioners Sambitory O. Dimaporo, Usop ‘Joe’ Z. Kasan, Baicon Cayongkat-Nuska, Hussin U. Amin, and Syed Kamal Reza L. Ampatuan. (Credit: BARMM Media Unit)
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COTABATO CITY, July 27, 2026 (SDN) –Muslim national and regional leaders are working together to strengthen their partnerships on initiatives directly benefiting the Bangsamoro people.
To realize their goals, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua hosted officials of the Metro Manila-based National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) led by Secretary Sabuddin N. Abdurahim, along with this year’s recently-appointed commissioners.
Abdurahim, a native of Tawi-Tawi, one of the BARMM component provinces, paid a courtesy call on the Bangsamoro Government’s Macacua on July 23 during which they had a meeting at the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM), Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC) in the city.
“I meet with National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Secretary Sabuddin N. Abdurahim and the NCMF Commissioners to strengthen our partnership on initiatives that directly benefit the Bangsamoro people. We discuss the development of islamic institutions, reinforcing our shared commitment to institutional development,” the BARMM Chief Minister said.
“We also advance our collaboration to expand Hajj opportunities for Bangsamoro beneficiaries, including our former Mujahideen. By working closely with our national partners, we continue to honor their sacrifices and move forward in building a #MasMatatagNaBangsamoro.”
Abdurahim also paid courtesy call on MILG Interior Minister Jordan S. Bayam
The following day, Abdurahim and the commissioners paid a courtesy visit on Minister Jordan S. Bayam, head of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG).
In the two parties’ meeting, they “reaffirm the strong partnership between the Bangsamoro Government and the NCMF.”
The MILG, one of the 15 primary ministries of the BARMM Government, Bayam and Abdurahim’s “meeting centered on strengthening collaboration to further improve services for Filipino Muslim pilgrims during Hajj and Umrah, as well as discussing initiatives to secure a permanent relocation site for the NCMF Central Office that will better serve the Bangsamoro community in Metro Manila.”
NCMF Commissioners Usop “Joe” Zaide Kasan lauded the meeting between the NCMF and BARMM officials, saying the renewed the partnership between the two government agencies which augurs well for the wellbeing and benefit of the Muslim within and outside the Bangsamoro region.
Kasan, former director of the Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment (NCMF-BPE), said Secretary Abdurahim and Chief Minister Macacua traced out issues about Hajj, the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and have agreed on the need to collaborate for the benefit of every Bangsamoro individial performing one of Islam’s five pillars.
“This very important because the Hajj is obligatory to every adult Muslim who is physically and financially capable to perform once in a life time. The two Muslim leaders agreed on the participation of the BARMM Government in the Hajj affairs of the Bangsamoro people,” Commissioner Kasan revealed.
The NCMF commissioner pointed out that he was hoping that specific issues on the Hajj would be addressed later on.
“I am personally thankful to BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua for the meeting, and to NCMF Secretary Sabuddin N. Abdurahim for his open mind on the collaboration for the Mecca pilgrimage. It’s win-win solution,” Kasan said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Dimapuno Datu-Ramos, Jr., head of the NCMF-National Capital Region (NCR) noted that the meeting of the national and regional officials addressed the nationwide Muslim community’s concerns using a whole-of-government approach.
“They discussed the development of Islamic institutions, reinforcing their shared commitment to institutional development,” Datu-Ramos pointed out.
The NCMF-NCR regional director recalled that a few months ago BARMM and non-BARMM Muslim governors also met with NCMF’s Abdurahim “to address multiple issues affecting Muslim Filipinos.”
They are fom Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan (Vice Governor Sakur Tan, Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr., Governor Ysmael Sali, Governor Mujiv Hataman), key figures who are helping to shape a better future for their communities,” he added.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA) with right municipalities.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)