Bangsamoro chief minister files COC as independent

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May 10, 2026 | 6:11pm

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulrauf Macacua has filed his certificate of candidacy for the regional parliament as an independent candidate, not as the official bet of any political party in the autonomous region.

Macacua is seeking a district parliamentary seat covering parts of Cotabato City and nearby towns in southern Maguindanao del Norte, one of the five provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

His certificate of candidacy was filed by his son, Jamel, at the Commission on Elections office at the Bangsamoro capitol compound in Cotabato City on Thursday, May 7.

Macacua is the figurehead of BARMM’s 80-seat parliament and oversees the agencies and ministries under the Bangsamoro government.

Parties gear up for regional polls

There are 16 regional political parties, including the United Bangsamoro Justice Party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, preparing for the first parliamentary elections in BARMM on September 14.

Officials of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party, one of the four largest regional political parties in BARMM, earlier said Macacua would be their candidate for the district he intends to represent if elected.

Two other major regional political blocs in BARMM, Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo and the Bangsamoro Party of the Moro National Liberation Front, are also not hostile to Macacua.

Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo is led by influential elected officials in Lanao del Sur, including Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr.

The Bangsamoro Party is led by Bangsamoro Labor and Employment Minister Muslimin Sema, chairman of the MNLF central committee.

There are three cities in BARMM: Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato City, the seat of the regional government.

Sema seeks parliament seat

Former congresswoman Bai Sandra Sema, who was instrumental in the enactment of Republic Act 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law, also filed her certificate of candidacy for a parliamentary seat covering Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Blah Sinsuat and Upi towns in Maguindanao del Norte.

Sema is an official candidate of the Bangsamoro Party, which supports the national government’s peace overtures with the MNLF and the MILF.

Both fronts have separate peace agreements with the national government. They also have representatives in the regional parliament and oversee some BARMM support agencies and ministries.

Officials of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party, including its Cotabato City chairperson, regional parliament member Naguib Sinarimbo, said they would also support Sema, just as they are backing Macacua despite his not having officially joined their party.

Sema is related by blood to leaders of noble Moro clans in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Blah Sinsuat and Upi.

Sinolinding also runs as independent

Emissaries of BARMM Health Minister Kadil Sinolinding Jr., a physician-ophthalmologist who also sits as a regional lawmaker in a concurrent capacity, also filed his candidacy on Thursday, May 7, at the Comelec office in Cotabato City.

Sinolinding, who is also running as an independent candidate, is seeking the parliament seat covering the newly created towns of Kapalawan, Old Kaabacan, Malidegao and Ligawasan in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province in Region 12.

Radio reports on Saturday quoted traditional leaders of Moro, settler and non-Moro Indigenous communities in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area as saying they had prodded Sinolinding to run and assured him of their support.