DAVAO CITY – The post-transition Bangsamoro Parliament elected interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua to the regional government’s top post, expecting him and his soon-to-be-formed Cabinet to eliminate the vestiges of revolutionary struggle toward cementing the Bangsamoro’s own transition to self-governance.
On October 30, Macacua got a vote of 51 from the 80 members of Parliament during its first session as an elected body. Under Republic Act No. 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the Chief Minister must secure the majority vote of all MPs, or at least 41 votes to assume the position.
As Chief Minister, Macacua will head the executive administration and appoint the heads of the Bangsamoro ministries, offices, and agencies (BMOAs). He is also responsible for presenting a platform of government for Parliament’s approval.
He will form a Cabinet, the majority of whose members must come from Parliament, and nominate two Deputy Chief Ministers for election by the lawmakers.
Together, the Chief Minister and Cabinet will constitute the Government of the Day, responsible for implementing laws, delivering public services, and carrying out the administration’s priorities.
The position gives Macacua considerable responsibility over the direction of the regional government, the Bangsamoro Information Office said.
‘Today is not merely about the assumption of leadership. It is about the continuing fulfillment of a promise,’ Macacua said in his inaugural address on Friday in the first session of the Parliament as a duly elected and constituted body.
He said that accepting the mandate was neither a personal victory nor a claim to political entitlement, ‘but a sacred amanah (trust) that carries the hopes, expectations, and aspirations of the Bangsamoro people’.
‘I shall endeavor to be a leader for everyone at every time-not only for those who have placed their confidence in me, but equally for those who have expressed their reservations or chosen a different path,’ he said.
Macacua was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) panel negotiating a peace settlement with the national government and later became a commissioner of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) that drafted the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
When BARMM was established in 2019, Macacua became a member of the BTA, the interim law-making body. He was picked to serve as head of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy (MENRE) from 2019 to 2022, overseeing concerns involving natural resource management, environmental protection, and energy development.
He later served as Senior Minister, taking part in coordinating the policies and development priorities of the interim government.
In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed him officer in charge of Maguindanao del Norte, a province created following the division of Maguindanao. Among his efforts were improving road connectivity in rural communities and strengthening coordination among the province’s 12 municipalities through a memorandum of agreement aimed at promoting cooperation and more equitable resource allocation.
On February last year, Marcos appointed Macacua as Interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro government, succeeding former Chief Minister and MILF Chairman Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, who had led the region since its establishment in 2019.
During the Parliamentary election this year, Macacua sought an electoral mandate, winning a seat as district representative of Maguindanao del Norte’s Third District under the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), which he chaired.
Also In his speech, Macacua pledged to continue the Moral Governance Agenda championed by former Chief Minister Ebrahim, who also won seat in Parliament.
‘To our Amerul Mujahideen, the Honorable Chairman Ahod ‘Al Haj Murad’ Ebrahim, Sir: I want to personally assure you that the Moral Governance Agenda you have started and steadfastly championed will remain at the very heart of my leadership,’ he said.
‘You have my word, Sir, that I will remain faithful to this vision, not only in words but in every decision and action of this administration, until the very last day of my mandate. This is my commitment to you, and an amanah I intend to honor,’ CM Macacua added.