Who will be Bangsamoro's first elected Chief Minister?

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Abdulraof Macacua and Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, the present and former interim chief ministers of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, have emerged as the top contenders for the post as first elected chief minister when members of the Bangsamoro parliament vote on Friday, October 30.

Both were appointed by the President — Ebrahim by then President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 and Macacua by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in 2025 — and have won seats in the recent BARMM elections for the parliament.

Who will be BARMM's first elected chief minister?

Abdulraof Macacua

According to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s website, Macacua was born in the town of Gambar, Maguindanao in 1957. During his youth, Macacua witnessed the Bangsamoro’s struggle for liberation.

He entered the military by 1971, joining the revolutionary movement. He would eventually become the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces’ (BIAF) Chief-of-Staff.

Macacua is considered a key member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Peace Negotiating Panel, which eventually paved the way for the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which was the foundation of BARMM.

Macacua would become the Secretary General of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), which is the political party of MILF.

Since 2019, Macacua has been a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), serving as the Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy.

He was also a member of parliament, as well as a senior minister in the BTA.

In 2023, Macacua was appointed by Marcos as the officer-in-charge of the newly created Maguindanao del Norte province.

Marcos would again appoint Macacua to a different position in 2025, this time as the interim chief of BARMM. He had been expected to serve as the interim chief until the first ever BARMM parliamentary elections.

While Macacua has had a long political career, his position as the interim chief has been challenged by no less than the MILF itself, with the group questioning how Marcos appointed him.

Marcos was supposed to choose a chief based on the list that the MILF provided. However, the MILF said that Marcos chose a chief minister and members of parliament who were not endorsed.

In a separate incident, Macacua was ambushed by armed assailants during a convoy in Maguindanao del Norte in 2026.

Ahod Balawag Ebrahim

Born in Maguindanao in 1949, Ebrahim studied at the Cotabato Public High School in Cotabato City before enrolling at the Mindanao State University-Marawi. He would later transfer to Notre Dame University in Cotabato City, according to the BARMM’s official website.

Ebrahim would eventually join the Moro liberation movement in 1968, quitting his formal education.

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) appointed him as the zone commander after undergoing military training abroad.

By 1974, Ebrahim became the military chairman of the MNLF for the Kutawato Region (present day North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and Sarangani). He became the region’s chairman in 1978.

In 1982, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was created, where he was appointed as the vice chairman for the Vice Chairman for Military Affairs and the Chief of Staff of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF).

Ebrahim would later become the chair of the MILF Peace Panel negotiating team with the Philippine government from 2001 to 2003. He signed peace agreements on behalf of the MILF.

He would later become the MILF chair after the passing of Shiekh Salamat Hashim in 2003.

During his chairmanship, the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) were signed.

When the BOL was passed into law in 2018, Ebrahim was appointed by Duterte as the chief minister of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

He would remain as the interim chief of the BTA until he resigned in 2025 to campaign for the Bangsamoro Parliament election. Ebrahim was replaced by the current interim Chief Minister Macacua.

Ebrahim is currently with the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP). He remains influential among MILF members and longtime Bangsamoro leaders. —NB, GMA News