BARMM’s change of leadership: 7 months before 1st parliamentary polls
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 09 March) – The appointment of OIC Maguindanao del Norte Governor Abdulraof Abdul Macacua as the new interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) vice Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim was
signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on March 3 but confirmation about the change of leadership came six days later, on Sunday, March 9.
There was no formal announcement from Malacanang on this major development in the BARMM. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro confirmed the appointment of Macacua in an interview with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. “Confirming the appointment as Interim Chief Minister of BARMM,” Castro told PCIJ. But no details were given.
Ebrahim served as interim Chief Minister from February 2019 to March 2025.
The change of leadership surprised many especially as it comes seven months before the first BARMM parliamentary polls in October but MindaNews sources said at least three attempts have been made to replace Ebrahim with Macacua since Marcos took over as President in 2022. The latest is reportedly the fourth.
It is not clear if Macacua was reappointed as Member of Parliament (MP) before he was appointed as Chief Minister. Macacua was an MP from February 2019 until his appointment as OIC Governor of Maguindanao del Norte in April 2023. The Chief Minister has to come from the Parliament. Macacua’s son, Jamel, had earlier been appointed to fill his father’s vacated seat.
In the MILF, Ebrahim is MILF chair while Macacua is Chief of Staff of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). The MILF signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government on March 27, 2014.
When the BARMM was established in 2019, then President Rodrigo Duterte appointed the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the body tasked to run the BARMM during the three-year transition period. The transition should have ended on June 30, 2022 but was reset to June 30, 2025 and has been extended until October 30, 2025.
Among the 80 appointed members were Ebrahim and Macacua. Duterte also named Ebrahim as interim Chief Minister. Ebrahim appointed Macacua as Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and later named his as Senior Minister.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed the members of the BTA in August 2022, retaining some and replacing others. Like Duterte, he named Ebrahim as the Chief Minister.
Republic Act 12123 which reset the date of the BARMM parliamentary elections to October 13, provides that incumbent BTA members shall continue to serve until their successors shall have been elected and qualified “unless such interim members are replaced by the President or their tenure is shortened by their election to a different position.”
Oath-taking, turnover of leadership
When the oath-taking of Macacua and turnover of leadership will be, has yet to be announced.
As of Sunday, no statement had been issued by Ebrahim, Macacua and Mohagher Iqbal, BARMM Education Minister and concurrent chair of the MILF Peace lmplementing Panel. Iqbal told MindaNews on Sunday that they would issue a statement on Monday.
Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez welcomed the leadership change. In an eight-paragraph statement sent to MindaNews on Sunday, he said the transition from Ebrahim to Macacua “comes at a crucial time,” referring to the preparations for the BARMM elections in October 2025.
The first election of the 80-member Bangsamoro Parliament has been reset twice – from May 2022 to May 2025 and May 12, 2025 to October 13 this year. The region is still in transition and since its birth in 2019 has been run by the MILF-led BTA. The BTA members as well as the interim Chief Minister, are appointed by the President. The Chief Minister appoints the Cabinet.
In the first BARMM elections in October, the Chief Minister is elected from among the MPs.
Asked by MindaNews what the reason was in replacing Ebrahim with Macacua, Galvez declined to comment. He said he has no authority to discuss political decisions.
In his statement, Galvez said Macacua’s appointment as new interim CM “will further strengthen the leadership foundation established by Ahod Ebrahim, Al Haj, in the ongoing transition period of the Bangsamoro region.”
He thanked Ebrahim “for his leadership and vision, particularly in fostering meaningful autonomy for the Bangsamoro people and advancing the peace process in the region” and expressed trust for Macacua “as he takes the helm of governance.”
Action-oriented leadership
He said the President’s “political decision aligns well with the current realities in the Bangsamoro” adding that Macacua “has long demonstrated action-oriented leadership through the various positions he has held.”
“For years, I have personally witnessed Interim Chief Minister Macacua’s determination and resilience in our numerous collaborations to ensure stability in the region,” he said.
Galvez called on the Bangsamoro people to “support the new leadership and continue the trek on the path of peace in the Bangsamoro region. Together,” he said, “we must build upon the gains of the peace process.”
Basilan Governor Jim Hataman was the first BARMM Governor to issue a statement.
“As Governor of Basilan, and on behalf of my people, I express my full support for his administration. We stand with him in ensuring that the gains of peace are preserved and that the aspirations of the Bangsamoro continue to be realized. Mabuhay ang Bangsamoro!” he said in a statement posted on the social media page of the Provincial Government of Basilan.
The Bangsamoro’s journey has been long and challenging, shaped by the struggles, sacrifices, and strong determination of its people to achieve lasting peace and genuine self-governance. From the signing of peace agreements to the establishment of BARMM, “every milestone reflects the resilience and collective hope of a people striving for a better future,” he said.
Hataman added that Macacua’s appointment “now carries the weight of a vision long fought for – a Bangsamoro that is strong, self-sustaining, and united.”
As Macacua takes on this “great responsibility,” Hataman said he recognizes his
dedication to the Bangsamoro cause and his commitment to upholding the trust placed in him.
Hataman stressed that the President’s appointment of Macacua “is a testament to the faith and confidence in his ability to lead the region toward greater peace, stability, and development.”
“Heavy-handed move”
Former Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita ‘Ging’ Deles told MindaNews on Sunday that she hopes the President “thought about this move very carefully,” a move she described as “heavy-handed.”
She cited three areas of concern; that “such a heavy-handed move by the Chief Executive to unilaterally change the leadership in the BARMM seven months before the first regional elections in October (postponed for the 2nd time by the expressed wish of the President, according to the Senate President), sends a negative message about how the national leadership regards autonomy, which was the very subject of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between the parties in 2014.”
Deles said this move is “likely to incite a new, possibly destabilizing, power dynamics in the region at a time when stability is most needed in the lead up to the October elections which already holds many challenges in light of its many firsts not just for the region but for the entire country – being regional, parliamentary, with its diverse composition (district, party-list, reserved seats), among others.”
Deles also noted that the BARMM Parliamentary Elections had been postponed twice – from May 2022 to May 2025 and from May 12, 2025 to October 13, 2025 – the second supposedly to resolve issues arising from the exclusion of Sulu from BARMM. “It’s hard to imagine how this move, which will surely involve some learning curves and possible disruptions, will help to bring that about,” she said, adding that she hopes “this does not portend another postponement of elections – with all that will imply with regard to the essence and requirements of autonomy.”
“As the CAB marks its 11th anniversary towards the end of this month, I can only hope that sobriety persists and the commitment to the still unfinished peace process prevails,” she said.
The CAB was signed by the government and MILF on March 27, 2014.
“All is well,” Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker Omar Crisostomo Sema told MindaNews on Sunday.
“As long as the leaders have agreed and are united on the change in leadership, I am confident this further optimizes the remaining months of transition particularly the decommissioning as most of the names from the MILF side are BIAF leaders. They are now capacitated and empowered to pursue whatever needs pursuing as far the decommissioning is concerned,” he said.
“Appointment or anointment?,” a MindaNews source asked.
“Are we now crossing a bridge over troubled water?”
Guiamel Alim of the Council of Elders of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS) wants to understand what is happening.
“Honestly, I am not sure If I understand what is going on,” he told MindaNews on Sunday evening. “Seven months to BARMM election and all of a sudden,
a change in guards for the BARMM?”
“What can the new set of BARMM officials do in seven months’ time? New officials, new cabinet, new development agenda and programs? Are we expecting a Murad wing or a Sammy Wing within the MILF? Are we now crossing a bridge over troubled water? Is this a sign that we must fasten our seatbelts and brace for a turbulence ahead?” Alim asked.
He noted that the signing an agreement “is one thing and implementing it is another thing because the ‘devil is in the details.’”
“I really wish that my perspectives are wrong,” he said, adding that what consoles him is this famous teaching in Islam which roughly says that “there are things that you like to happen but won’t serve the purpose. On the other hand, there are things you don’t like but will do better.”
“My only prayer in this holy month of Ramadhan made unholy by the new development is for the BARMM not (to end up as) another failed experiment,” Alim said. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
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