The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reunification and Unity (OPAPRU) has assured the newly established Bangsamoro parliamentary government of the national government’s steadfast backing as the region enters a new era of democratic self-governance.
Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento delivered the commitment during the historic inaugural session of the first democratically elected Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliament in Cotabato City on Friday, October 30.
“The convening of this elected Parliament is the ultimate manifestation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro’s Political Track, and the expression of the people’s will to chart their region’s economic and political future,” Sarmiento said.
Sarmiento attributed the successful shift to an elected administration to peace mechanisms built through years of dialogue between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). These frameworks included joint peace bodies, intergovernmental committees, and the Normalization Program, all designed to conclude decades of armed conflict and secure meaningful autonomy for the region.
During the inaugural proceedings—which drew the attendance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—the Parliament elected Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua as chief minister and Atty. Amer Zaakaria Rakim as speaker.
Macacua will helm the regional executive branch, working alongside two deputy chief ministers and the regional cabinet.
The inaugural session officially wraps up the seven-year transition managed by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which operated as the region’s interim government following the creation of BARMM in 2019. That transition stemmed from the 2014 signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) after 17 years of peace talks, which subsequently led to the passage of Republic Act No. 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law, in 2018.
Ratified through plebiscites in early 2019, the law gave birth to BARMM and the 80-member BTA, whose seats were filled by nominees from both the MILF and the national government.
Sarmiento noted that the milestone belongs to everyone who stood by the peace initiative through its various hurdles.
“This milestone belongs to the peacebuilders, former combatants and other stakeholders who continued to rally behind the Bangsamoro process amidst challenges, believing that the region will one day achieve its dream of genuine self-governance and self-determination,” he stated.
Highlighting the peaceful and credible execution of the BARMM polls, Sarmiento added that it reflects how deeply rooted democratic processes have become in the area.
“As the Bangsamoro begins a new chapter in its history, the OPAPRU remains unwavering in its commitment to help the BARMM government safeguard the peace, foster healing and reconciliation, and boost the socioeconomic development of the region,” Sarmiento remarked.
“We will continue to walk side by side with the elected Bangsamoro leadership to ensure that the dividends of peace and development are felt by every family in the region,” he concluded.