It’s Macacua: BARMM Parliament picks region’s first elected chief minister

COTABATO, Philippines – Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua was elected chief minister of the Bangsamoro region on Friday, October 30, securing a majority vote in the newly constituted parliament and ending seven years of transition governance. Macacua won 51 votes in the 80-member Bangsamoro Parliament, defeating former interim chief minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the United Bangsamoro Justice Party. Ebrahim got 27 votes, one member of parliament abstained, and another was absent during Friday’s session. Macacua’s election marks the transition from an appointed interim authority to a regular regional government following parliamentary elections on September 14.

Macacua, who represents the 3rd parliamentary district of Maguindanao del Norte under the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), previously served as interim chief minister and before that, acting provincial governor. He had also served as a senior minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). He was a prominent MILF leader and chief of staff of its armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces. Macacua was formerly a leading member of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the political arm of the MILF, but later broke with its leadership after he was appointed interim chief minister, replacing Ebrahim. He subsequently led the months-old Bangsamoro Federalist Party. Ebrahim or Murad led the Bangsamoro transition government when the autonomous region was established in 2019 until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. replaced him as interim chief minister. Friday’s election followed the dissolution of the unelected Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which had overseen the region’s legislative groundwork and the passage of key codes…