Category: Philippine Star

Policemen have arrested one of the alleged perpetrators of the January 25 ambush of the mayor in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, in which gunment fired rifles and a B40 anti-tank rocket at his vehicle, wounding him and four companions.

The suspect, Toraipe Lusod, also known by the alias Aripi Adam, was arrested on Saturday, October 24, by personnel from various units of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Barangay Meta, Datu Unsay, Maguindanao del Sur. Police acted on tips from residents who reported his presence in the area.

Police Captain Steffie Salanguit, PRO-BAR spokesperson, told reporters on Sunday that Lusod surrendered peacefully after realizing that police officers had surrounded his hideout in a secluded part of Barangay Meta and informed him that several arrest warrants had been issued against him.

Police officers from the Datu Unsay Municipal Police Station and the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office, who led the operation, seized a 5.56 M4 assault rifle from Lusod. The firearm was reportedly among those used in the January 25 ambush of Shariff Aguak Mayor Akmad Ampatuan Sr. and his companions in the town center.

Ampatuan was riding in his bullet-proof sports utility vehicle with four security escorts when gunmen armed with assault rifles and B40 rocket launchers attacked them in Shariff Aguak, less than five kilometers away from Barangay Meta in Datu Unsay, where Lusod was arrested on Saturday.

Policemen said Lusod was subject of arrest warrants issued by different regional courts over his alleged involvement in the attack.

Ampatuan and his four companions sustained minor injuries in the rocket blast, which damaged their vehicle.

Four of the alleged ambushers who fled the scene were later killed in a shootout with soldiers. The troops had initially tried to stop their speeding vehicle but engaged the occupants after they allegedly opened fire, leaving all four dead.

Aside from Lusod, 11 other individuals, including a local executive in Datu Unsay, are wanted for their alleged roles in planning and carrying out the ambush of Ampatuan and his security escorts eight months ago.

The suspects fled after after learning that different courts had issued arrest warrants against them. Police and military personnel are now conducting a joint manhunt to locate and arrest them.

Last week, we saw that as a Roman coin is stamped with the face of Caesar, we bear the indelible image and likeness of our Creator. As we repay to Caesar what belongs to him, we also return to God what is God’s-all that we are.

But wait… there’s more that Jesus’ masterstroke reply can teach us…

In our Gospel today (Matthew 22:34-40), Jesus synthesizes all 613 individual commandments of the Torah, the Law of the Jews, into just two: ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,’ and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Why love your neighbor? Because your neighbor bears the image and likeness of the God we love.

Basil Valdez sings: ‘Labis kitang mahal, pangalawa sa Maykapal.’ God holds supreme place in our hearts. But while God should always be our highest priority, he is not always first in the immediate order of time or action. For example, imagine you are a doctor on your way to Sunday Mass when you come across a bystander having a heart attack. Do you keep going, saying, ‘God wouldn’t want me to be late for Mass’? Or do you stop and say, ‘God would want me to save this person right now’? In that moment, saving a life is how you worship God. Jesus once quoted Hosea 6:6 and said, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’

But it doesn’t stop at loving your neighbor. Remember Jesus’ words: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Why love yourself? Because you also bear the image and likeness of the God we love.

Love your God, love your neighbor, love yourself. This has been popularized using the acronym JOY: Jesus first, Others next, You last. That is supposedly the secret to true happiness. While catchy, this risks imposing a rigid hierarchy onto Jesus’ words. Again, God claims our ultimate devotion, but this doesn’t mean treating yourself as an afterthought.

A similarly pious but flawed formula states: ‘The best for God and for others; the worst for me.’ But this kind of martyr complex is not sustainable. Live like this, and you will eventually burn out. Then your cold ashes will have no warmth to give anyone.

Self-care is not just a modern psychological buzzword. This is also embedded in Church teaching. Consider our Sunday obligation. The Church teaches that if you are sick, you are exempt from attending Mass. Not going to the Eucharist in that situation is not a sin. At that moment, you must love yourself, prioritize your health, and live another day to worship God and serve your neighbor. Loving yourself is not a luxury saved for whatever energy remains; it is a necessity that helps us to love God and love others well.

Authentic self-love is not selfish. In his classic work, The Art of Loving, psychoanalyst and social philosopher Erich Fromm teaches that self-love is actually the prerequisite for unselfish behavior. He writes, ‘The selfish person does not love himself too much, but too little; in fact, he hates himself.’ A person who lacks authentic self-love experiences constant internal emptiness and anxiety. To compensate, the selfish person who is perpetually hungry deep inside is driven to grab more from their environment and from others.

Whitney Houston sings: ‘Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.’ I disagree. Loving yourself is not always the greatest love of all. As Jesus was asked, ‘Which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ he also invites us to ask in every concrete situation, ‘Which is the greatest expression of love God is asking of me right now?’ And again, with due respect to Whitney Houston, the greatest love of all is not always easy to achieve and not always easy to discern.

Before a plane takes off, flight attendants issue a safety instruction many of us have memorized: ‘If the cabin pressure drops, secure your own oxygen mask first before assisting others-even your own children.’ When you first hear it, it sounds counterintuitive. Shouldn’t a parent put their child first? But the wisdom of aviation safety is simple: If you pass out from lack of oxygen, you are useless to the child sitting right beside you. Putting on your mask first isn’t self-indulgence; it’s survival so that you can save others. The same is true in the spiritual life. Taking time to nurture your soul is putting on your oxygen mask. This ensures that when God calls you to serve, you actually have life and breath to give.

Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity are models of self-sacrifice. Many people have wondered how they survived giving so much of themselves day in and day out, working in the brutal and exhausting slums of Kolkata. In the 1970s, as the demands on her order became more and more overwhelming, Mother Teresa instituted a mandatory daily Holy Hour of silent prayer for all her sisters. Again, this sounds counterintuitive. Some objected that an hour spent praying was an hour taken away from tending to the sick and dying. But Mother Teresa knew better. She famously replied, ‘If we do not take time to be filled, we will have nothing to pour out.’

The opening prayer at Mass today asks: ‘Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command.’ Can you love the greatest commandment?

Which is the greatest expression of love God is asking of you right now? Sometimes, it is reaching out to serve a neighbor who bears God’s image. But sometimes, it is pausing to tend to the image of God within yourself.

Driven by their shared mission to promote mental health and well-being, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) has partnered with the Manila Doctors Hospital (MDH) to provide accessible psychological health care services to students, faculty members and the wider school community.

Founded in 1956, Manila Doctors Hospital is a premier private tertiary hospital owned by Manila Medical Services Inc., as the health care affiliate of Metrobank Foundation Inc.

The two institutions formalized their alliance through a ceremonial signing of the memorandum of agreement led by Maria Veronica Perez, Benilde vice president for Lasallian Mission and Student Life and El Anelio Barnachea, RGC, Benilde Well-Being Center (BWC) director. They were joined by Karl Aaron Dimaano, Manila Medical Services Inc. president and James Pascual, Finance director.

Through this collaboration, spearheaded by Benilde’s Center for Partnership Advancement, Manila Doctors Hospital will provide reliable in-person and online psychological and psychiatric services to students, faculty and employees referred by the college’s medical professionals.

This likewise covers discounted psychotherapy sessions and prescriptions.

Dimaano noted the cooperation arrives at a time when safety, mental health and overall well-being for the youth require greater attention.

‘The modern life challenges brought about by social media, the growing mental health concerns and the incidents of violence in schools lately – these are just some of the realities which remind us of the importance of having a safe structure that allows our young people to access early intervention, professional care and a strong system of support.’

Barnachea said the partnership reflects the expansion of the boundaries of how they protect, support and uplift students.

‘For many years, schools and hospitals seemed to operate in separate spheres,’ he said. ‘The school was where children came to learn; the hospital was where they went when they were sick. But we know that a student’s life cannot be completely divided into boxes.’

‘The emotional weight, the anxiety and the silent mental health battles our young people face do not vanish when they walk through the school gates,’ he added.

Barnachea highlighted that BWC has always been on the front lines of this crisis, with its counselors looking into the eyes of learners who are overwhelmed by academic pressure, social anxieties, stress and depression.

Veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr. was arrested in Quezon City yesterday, after a Davao City court issued a warrant of arrest for cyberlibel.

Lustre had just attended the Saturday News Forum at a restaurant when officers from the Quezon City Police District-Kamuning Station 10 approached the 72-year-old journalist and informed him of the warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 10 Judge Retrina Fuentes on Oct. 2.

Forum moderators and reporters covering the event were surprised when they learned that Lustre was about to be arrested at 11:10 a.m.

After a police officer read the warrant, Lustre was handcuffed and escorted to a patrol vehicle outside the restaurant.

Lustre, a critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte and author of the book titled ‘Kill Kill Kill,’ which is about the war on drugs, said he was unaware of a pending case in Davao.

‘I do not know who the complainant is. They just gave me the stature,’ Lustre told reporters. ‘I will fight. I will not back down.’

Human rights lawyer Dino de Leon, who was a guest at the forum, volunteered as Lustre’s counsel and is working to have the journalist released on bail.

‘This is a sad day for journalism in the Philippines. We can feel the attack on members of the media. We do not know the full details of the case yet, but this made a chilling effect,’ De Leon said.

Before she ever stepped into the local coffee scene, Gina Ellorango-Ableitinger was strictly a tea drinker. Raised in a farming family from Davao del Norte, she spent her youth favoring sweet milk teas over coffee.

That changed in 2012 when she met her Austrian husband, Markus Ableitinger, in a Hong Kong coffee shop. He handed her a cappuccino-a bitter introduction that sparked an unexpected journey. Today, Gina is a dual-licensed Arabica and Robusta Q Grader, a certified roaster, and a pioneering advocate driving Mindanao’s specialty coffee movement.

In March 2015, after Markus completed his training in Hong Kong under the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe, the couple moved to Davao City to establish FrogKaffee café on Torres Street. The name ‘FROG KAFFEE’ combines the German-Austrian word for coffee with the phrase ‘Fresh Roast of Great Coffee.’ Thus, FROG Kaffee and Coffee Roastery was founded in December 2015.

It was Davao’s first specialty coffee shop, introducing Mindanao consumers to “third wave coffee”-a movement treating coffee as an artisanal food rather than a commodity, prioritizing bean origin, roast profile and brewing precision.

“Public response was a mix of curiosity and overwhelm,” Gina said. “Specialty coffee was new in Davao and imported beans made it expensive. Educating consumers through experience was our biggest challenge.”

To bridge the gap, the couple offered European pastries alongside carefully crafted drinks, while baristas walked customers through the origin and sensory notes of each cup. But as shipping costs and delivery delays for imported beans mounted, Gina shifted her focus to a pressing issue closer to home: the plight of local coffee growers.

Through the Kapwa Upliftment Foundation Inc., she connected with the Balutakay Coffee Farmers Association (BACOFA) in Mt. Apo, Davao del Sur. Despite farming in optimal volcanic soil at high altitudes, the growers struggled with post-harvest processing. Sacks of unselected beans sat unsold, fetching a meager 80 pesos per kilogram.

“I realized we can compete with global quality, but not in yield,” Gina said.

Working alongside initial initiatives like the ACDI/VOCA’s MinPACT Project, she selected and trained local farmers, including women growers, in selective harvesting, proper sorting and cherry drying.

She offered a premium purchase price of 180 pesos per kilogram for beans that met strict specialty standards. The intervention paid off. Farmers under the program improved their yields dramatically, with BACOFA members later winning top honors at the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) and placing Philippine Arabica on the international stage.

The MinPACT Project, or Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade, was implemented by ACDI/VOCA and funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress program. This development initiative focused on increasing the incomes and productivity of smallholder farmers-particularly those in the cocoa, coconut and coffee sectors across Mindanao.

To deepen her technical authority, Gina earned her Q Arabica Grader license in 2017 as part of a pioneering Philippine cohort, followed by her Q Robusta Grader certification in 2018. She also served four consecutive years as a PCQC judge, witnessing firsthand the surge in local coffee quality, particularly the rapid rise of fine Robusta.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of their café, the couple pivoted. They relocated operations to Ma-a, Davao City, transforming FrogKaffee into a specialty roastery, equipment distribution hub and specialized training school.

As a scholar of the MinPACT project, Gina structured the Frogkaffee Academy around affordable, continuous mentorship. Her curriculum covers the entire supply chain-from post-harvest processing to sensory analysis and barista skills.

Through collaborations with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, and local cooperatives, she frequently offers free training to marginalized farmers who lack access to formal coffee education.

“I was a scholar myself, so I pay it forward,” she said. “Farmers struggle to sell because of quality gaps. If we bridge those gaps, I don’t need to import coffee.”

Now a business-to-business consultancy and education hub, Frogkaffee continues to mentor entrepreneurs, baristas and growers across Mindanao.

“Coffee connects people,” Gina said. “If you are a good teacher and your student excels, you feel proud. The more people exposed to specialty coffee, the more the entire community benefits.”

This was the bounty offered this week by Jonvic Remulla, Interior secretary. After conflicting pronouncements of what the government (well, his department) was doing (or not doing) about Dela Rosa’s continued absence from civil society, Remulla’s latest brainwave triggered conflicting reactions.

Some expressed puzzlement. Does this mean that the government doesn’t have enough resources, men, equipment, tanks, planes, and guns to cuff him themselves?

Or does this mean some internal resistance from the police, who used to be led by Dela Rosa? Is Remulla not able to identify loyal men within the police corps who would die for him? Or does he not have the wherewithal to command these police officers? Not enough leadership skills? Is he afraid of a mutiny amongst his men?

That would be the unkind interpretation. Perhaps he already ran a logistics study about how to implement the arrest, studied the terrain, crunched numbers and stats, and come to a neat report submitted to the president’s that he’s unable to effect the arrest himself. Pat on the head for the good boy?

Other naysayers expressed relief. Finally, Remulla has admitted he’s in above his head, and now realizes he needs private citizens to do his job for him. Hopefully, the million dollars is enough to persuade people to devise their own strategy to rope in the fugitive senator. Correction: Given current exchange rates of this mismanaged economy, the ?50 million is no longer worth $1 million. Try three quarters by end of the year.

But what am I talking about. Didn’t Remulla just say something last week about Dela Rosa being armed and dangerous? Some media talking point about how arresting Bato might cause a bloodbath? Well, thanks for priming the citizenry that way, Remulla. Now they might not necessarily bite the million-dollar carrot you just offered given how dramatically you’ve prejudiced our minds.

Next time, before offering a measly reward, color our thinking first by putting out press releases about how Bato is now a softie, that he’s diminished, that no one supports him anymore. Condition us with some bull about how his fangs have been pulled. That way, foolhardy citizens can be enticed to taking the risk. Then, just follow the blood! The failed attempts at arresting him will surely attract your attention. With bodies left and right, you can just follow the trail and make the arrest yourself. How’s that for strategy? And you can even keep the fifty mil. Promise.

Remulla tells us the senator is hiding in Mindanao. What then is he trying to accomplish with this reward? Does he think the Mindanaons aren’t solid enough to come together and shield Dela Rosa? Does he think someone desperate enough or poor enough in that island will salivate at the reward, and betray the senator? Does he think that backstabbers and traitors are amongst the senator’s coterie? Could he be right on this one?

Prof. Teddy Te had called for Remulla to be fired over his many missteps. Remulla admitted to making a mistake by thinking that a gentlemen’s agreement reached with rattled senators that he could come back to the Senate building and arrest Bato the next day would be binding. How about the mistake of not cutting off all the escape routes? How about the mistake of not inspecting the departing vehicles rigorously? How about the mistake of going home that night instead of personally staking out the premises?

But firing Remulla might just lead to more delays in arresting Bato and handing him over to the International Criminal Court so he can stand trial with Rodrigo Duterte. By the way, where is Senator Bong Go?

Perhaps, it would be a better option if we wait for whoever arrests Dela Rosa to be successful, sit pretty while he or she hauls him in, and when the fifty mil cash is handed over to the bounty hunter, use that moment to simultaneously fire Jonvic, strip him of the title of Interior Secretary, and drape that title on the shoulders of the bounty hunter. What a fantastic reward!

Better incentive to finally get Bato? That person would have earned the role, for sure.

Come on bounty hunters! Do you want to be the next Interior secretary? This would be the chance to head the police! To make arrests left and right! To rid the force of bad apples, and collar all those corrupt politicians! To make a difference!

Call this an audition.

Recently there was a word war between the Philippines and China which continues on. It started when China’s Ambassador to the Philippines was quoted as saying ‘that China may easily win in a confrontation against the Philippines.’ In the unlikely event that such a conflict will arise, the question is what will the nature of this conflict be and how will the Philippines react.

This possibility has given rise to the question of what the wars of the future will be like. One conclusion that has become more and more acceptable among geopolitical strategists is the growing belief that there is very little threat of a nuclear war. In the last few decades, we have seen conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq and, more recently, in Ukraine, between the superpowers and their proxies. In all these conflicts, although the parties involved possess nuclear weapons, none of the countries used this type of weapons. Even India and Pakistan which possess nuclear weapons and were attacking across each other’s borders in May 2025, nuclear weapons were not used at all.

In this new era of warfare, there are emerging technologies that will favor countries like the Philippines. Early this year, for example, the United States started an air war across Iranian targets. The US dominated the skies, using its massive air power. During a five-week period, the US conducted over 13,000 air strikes against Iran. Over the same period, however, Iran was able to retaliate by launching 2,200 missiles and 4,400 drones against countries in the region.

Until now, the Iranian regime remains in control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not been forced to surrender and has not given up control of Hormuz. The United States has not therefore achieved its objective in the war, even though it is far more powerful than Iran.

The conflict between Iran and the United States is being viewed as the first example of a new era in warfare. Emerging technologies are levelling the playing field between the superpowers and its adversaries.

Another clear example of this new warfare is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At the beginning of this conflict, most experts believed that Ukraine would be easily invaded and surrender a few weeks after the invasion.

After several years, Ukraine is still fighting and the most recent reports indicate that Ukraine is now successfully pushing back the Russian invaders.

The main reason for the unexpected resilience of small countries against superpowers is the existence of affordable drone technology, which is allowing smaller states to successfully retaliate against superior invading forces.

Drones have transformed not just the dynamics of warfare but also its economics. Both Ukraine and Iran have used low-cost air and naval drones to destroy far more expensive assets. For example, Ukraine used kamikaze drone boats and anti-ship missiles to obliterate Russia’s Black Sea fleet, sinking 13 ships after two years of war and damaging dozens more.

A $300,000 drone boat can cripple a Navy warship that costs hundreds of millions of dollars. The superpowers have no advantage in these emerging drone technologies. Iran, for example, has become a major producer of cheap drones. Ukraine produces four million drones every year.

Ukraine is producing long-range strike drones that can travel up to 600 miles. More countries will soon possess similar drones. It is expected that these advances in drone technology will change warfare in profound ways. Even the Pentagon has announced plans to expand the production of low-cost drones and has budgeted $1 billion to produce 340,000 drones by 2027. The US Army has set a goal of producing at least a million drones by 2028.

It is notable to observe that Ukraine’s production of four million drones a year makes it a bigger drone producer than any of the superpowers.

A drone which originally used to refer to a stingless male bee, a continuous hum, a bagpipe’s pipe tone or to speak in a boring, monotonous tone has today acquired another meaning. In the context of warfare, it is defined as an unscrewed aircraft or ship guided by remote control or by onboard computers known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is an aircraft that operates without a human pilot onboard, controlled remotely by an operator or flying autonomously via GPS and sensors.

Its common uses are for aerial photography, filmmaking, surveillance, package delivery, agriculture and military operations.

Today, the superpowers, including China, are still using military strength in terms of the traditional method. For example, the Navy counts the number of ships and the Air Force, the number of aircraft. Even the Army counts the number of soldiers as its matrix to measure its military power.

The Philippines can learn the lessons from Iran and Ukraine in dealing with a superpower.

Union Bank of the Philippines is moving to absorb the businesses of its digital banking and financial technology subsidiaries into its parent operations, as the Aboitiz-led lender seeks to streamline its operations and strengthen its digital banking services.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, UnionBank said its board of directors approved the planned integration of UnionDigital Bank and fintech subsidiary UBX into the parent bank, subject to regulatory approvals from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other authorities.

The move is part of the bank’s broader strategy to focus on its core businesses, improve operational efficiency and consolidate its digital capabilities under a single banking platform.

UnionDigital operates as the group’s digital banking arm, while UBX focuses on fintech solutions aimed at expanding access to financial services beyond traditional bank branches.

UnionBank president and CEO Ana Delgado said the integration would allow the bank to serve more customers while maximizing the capabilities developed by its subsidiaries.

‘By integrating UnionDigital and UBX with UnionBank, we are strengthening our digital proposition, creating greater efficiencies and accelerating our ability to serve more Filipinos at scale,’ Delgado said.

She said the planned consolidation would also give customers access to a broader range of banking products and financial solutions through UnionBank’s existing digital platforms.

The bank assured customers that services would remain available while the proposed integration undergoes regulatory review.

‘During the transition process, we are committed to ensure the least amount of disruption for our customers,’ Delgado said. ‘We will carefully guide their transition into UnionBank at the appropriate time.’

The bank has not disclosed a timetable for completing the integration, which remains subject to the necessary regulatory clearances.

The consolidation plan comes as UnionBank reported a 53-percent increase in net income to P9.9 billion in the first nine months, supported by stronger interest earnings, higher fee income and improved operating efficiency.

Net revenues increased by eight percent to P65.5 billion, reflecting wider lending margins and higher transaction income from its expanding retail customer base, which exceeded 19.5 million.

Net interest income rose by nine percent to P51.9 billion. The bank’s net interest margin improved by 34 basis points to 6.9 percent.

UnionBank attributed the improvement partly to a five-percent increase in current account and savings account deposits, a relatively low-cost source of funding for banks.

Consumer loans accounted for 62 percent of its total loan portfolio, nearly three times the industry average, reflecting the bank’s strong concentration in retail lending.

Meanwhile, non-interest income grew by five percent to P13.6 billion, with fees and commissions climbing by the same rate to P11.9 billion.

Income from wealth management and bancassurance surged by 52 percent and accounted for 18 percent of total fee income.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.50%.

In a statement on Thursday, October 22, the Monetary Board announced that the target Reverse Repurchase rate would increase to 5.50%.

This marks the BSP’s first 50-basis-point rate hike since February 2023, bringing cumulative rate increases to 125 basis points since the BSP began its tightening cycle in April.

This move also brings interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities to 5.00% and 6.00%, respectively.

The central bank cited persistent inflation risks as the primary reason for the rate hike.

Average headline inflation is projected to accelerate in the coming months and remain elevated through 2027 before gradually moving toward the BSP’s 3% target in 2028.

Core inflation is also expected to continue rising, signaling broader cost pressures across the economy.

The Monetary Board said elevated global oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East, higher transport fares and lingering El Niño risks to agriculture have heightened inflation pressures.

While fiscal measures are expected to support domestic economic recovery, the Board stressed the need for a decisive and restrictive monetary policy stance was necessary to contain second-round effects and anchor inflation expectations.

While fiscal measures are expected to support domestic economic recovery, the Board emphasized the need for a decisive and restrictive monetary policy stance to contain second-round effects and keep inflation expectations anchored.

‘This will contain second-round effects and firmly anchor inflation expectations,’ the BSP said.

‘The BSP stands ready to take further monetary policy action as necessary to ensure the timely return of inflation to the target, in keeping with our price stability mandate,’ it added.

Various sectors welcomed the wish of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari for Abdulraof Macacua to remain as chief minister of the Bangsamoro regional government.

‘That is something so touching for us,’ lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesperson of the Bangsamoro Federalist party, who was elected to represent a parliamentary district in Cotabato City during the September 14 elections in the autonomous region, said.

The 80 elected members of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will convene for the inaugural session on October 30, following the region’s first-ever parliamentary elections on September 14.

Macacua was also elected to represent a parliamentary district covering neighboring barangays in Cotabato City and parts of the nearby province Maguindanao del Norte during last month’s polls.

Up to 46 newly elected members of the BARMM parliament, including Macacua, formed a bloc during a dialogue in Davao City last week to promote inclusive regional governance that involves Muslim, Christian and indigenous non-Moro communities in the autonomous region.

Macacua, whose tenure as interim chief minister is set to end when the elected regional lawmakers convene for their first session on October 30, visited Misuari at his residence in Davao City on Thursday, October 22, along with BARMM’s local government minister Jordan Bayam. They discussed various issues, including governance in autonomous region.

During their conversation, Misuari first congratulated Macacua on his election to the BARMM parliament in the September 14 regional polls. Their meeting, which was also attended by Bayam, was captured on video. Copies of the footage circulated among members of BARMM’s media community on Friday, October 23.

‘You have my support, my full support,’ Misuari told Macacua, after saying that he wants him to stay as BARMM’s chief minister.

Macacua would need at least 41 votes from the 80 newly elected BARMM lawmakers to become chief minister if nominated for the post during their first session on October 30.

Misuari served as governor of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao after the MNLF and the national government signed a peace agreement on September 2, 1996. The agreement was brokered by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of more than 50 Muslim-majority countries, including oil-exporting nations in the Middle East and North Africa.

‘We need good people like you at the helm,’ Misuari told Macacua while he and Bayam were in his residence in Davao City.

All five BARMM governors, Ali Midtimbang of Maguindanao del Sur, Tucao Mastura of Maguindanao del Norte, Mamintal Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur, Mujiv Hataman of Basilan and Ysmael Sali of Tawi-Tawi, had assured, pledged their support for the 46-member bloc of newly elected lawmakers during a meeting in Davao City last week.

The bloc members are expected to support Macacua if he is nominated for chief minister during the parliament’s first session on October 30.

‘Carry on, I hope you will stay long in your administration, In Shaa Allah,’ Misuari told Macacua as they ended their talk with a handshake.

Officials of the Bangsamoro Initiative for Peace, Progress and Solidarity (BIPPS), a multisectoral peace advocacy entity with members across BARMM’s provinces and cities, separately told reporters on Sunday that they appreciated Misuari’s vote of confidence in Macacua.

Traders in BARMM, including members of the influential Bangsamoro Business Council, which has groups across the region’s five provinces and three cities, said they did not oppose efforts by various sectors to keep Macacua as chief minister of the autonomous region.

‘We don’t have a problem with Chief Minister Macacua remaining as chief minister in the Bangsamoro region,” Adiong, the now second term governor of Lanao del Sur, said.

Adiong said officials and members of their regional party, the Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo, are thankful to Misuari for his desire for Macacua to remain as BARMM chief minister.