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MANILA, October 31, 2026 (SDN) — And the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is off to a regular governance after seven years of transition.
And as is expected and the wish of the officers, members, followers, and scores of sympathizers of the Bangsamoro Federal Party (BFP) , BARMM’s second interim chief minister for the last 19 months since March 2025, BFP President Abdulraof A. Macacua, is now the regular chief minister.
He won over United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) President Ahod Balawag “Al-Haj” Murad” Ebrahim on 51 to 27 votes in the inaugural session on October 30 of the Bangsamoro Parliament. UBJP is the political wing and regional political party of the MILF.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. graced and witnessed the first day of the Bangsamoro’s first elected regular officials of the BARMM. He was with, among others, Special Assistant to the President Antonio “Anton” F. Lagdameo, Jr.
Recall that since January 2019, the now-defunct Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) governed the BARMM as it transitioned to its regular governance.
Ebrahim, the chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), served as the first interim chief minister appointed in 2019 by the then-President Rodrigo R. Duterte. On March 3, 2025, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. replaced the MILF chairman with Macacua, who started serving on March 12.
In the Bangsamoro Legislative Branch, now under the first elected 80 members of Parliament (MPs), MP Atty. Amer Zaakaria “Mikee” A. Rakim of the Bangsamoro Grand Coalition (BGC) won as Speaker of the Parliament with 51 to 27 votes over former Speaker Mohammad S. Yacob of the UBJP.
Marcos renewed the national government’s unwavering support for the people of the Bangsamoro. He said their success is not just theirs, but the entire nation, too.
The election for the regular officials of the Parliament came after the President left the Session Hall at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex (SKCC), Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC), Cotabato City, the regional government’s capital.
Along the elections of Macacua and Rakim, the Parliament also elected 10 deputy speakers, such as MPs Rosatina Matolo De-Asis, Tawakal Midtimbang, Amir Mawallil, Lampa Pandi, Ahmad Amir Balindong, Suwaib Oranon, Ibrahim Ibay, Hosni Macapodi, Jose Lorena, and Abrar Hataman.
MP Johari Abu was elected majority floor leader, with Atty. Bantuas “Banjo” M. Lucman as Parliament’s secretary general.
The first elected officials this year on September 14 of the BARMM will serve for a term of five years. — EDD K. USMAN / SDN