BARMM execs launch 2026-2028 governance framework

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March 24, 2026 | 6:46pm

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Officials of the Bangsamoro autonomous regional government together launched on Monday, March 23, the “Mas Matatag na Bansamoro Agenda” as a framework for their 2026-2028 governance thrusts, parallel with the Mindanao peace process.

The Mindanao peace process, which involves the national government, the 80-seat parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Muslim, Christian and non-Moro indigenous communities in BARMM and in other southern regions, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is partly focused on addressing underdevelopment in cities and provinces caused by decades of secessionist conflicts.

BARMM covers the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato, where the MNLF and MILF have state-recognized domains. Both fronts have separate peace agreements with the national government, have representatives in the Bangsamoro parliament and are also together overseeing certain agencies of the regional government.

Senior BARMM officials, led by their chief minister, Abdulrauf Macacua, converged in Quezon City on Monday and discussed the intricacies of their 2026-2028 peace and development goals as guides for boosting the autonomous region’s socio-economic growth via governance and collaboration with local government units on public service thrusts.

“We shall work together in furthering this very comprehensive peace and development framework for our region,” Macacua told reporters on Tuesday morning.

He said the objectives of their new governance framework is to have a progressive Bangsamoro region, as home to mixed Muslim, Christian and non-Moro indigenous communities, to spur economic growth in all of its towns and cities to improve commerce and trade to generate employment and boost small and medium enterprises and expand the regional government’s infrastructure, healthcare and education programs.

Macacua said the framework also includes extensive peace and security initiatives and promotion of interfaith solidarity and ecumenism among BARMM’s culturally-pluralistic communities.

“That shall be our governance guides for 2026 to 2028,” said Macacua, who is figurehead of the BARMM parliament and is a senior member of the MILF’s central committee.

Three members of BARMM’s parliament, the physician-ophthalmologist Kadil Sinolinding Jr. and the lawyers Naguib Sinariimbo and Jet Lim, who is also spokesperson of the region’s law-making body, separately assured of their support for the newly-launched Mas Matatag na Bansamoro Agenda of their regional government.

“We shall exert our best efforts to achieve the goals of that governance framework,” said Sinarimbo, who was BARMM’s local government minister before he was appointed member of the regional parliament by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last year.

Sinolinding, who is also managing the Ministry of Health-BARMM in concurrent capacity, said he and his subordinates in the agency shall work together in expanding their health services in all areas in the autonomous region based on their new regional governance framework.

BARMM’s labor and employment minister, Muslimin Sema, who is chairman of the MNLF’s central committee, said they are glad with Monday’s launching of the Mas Matatag na Bansamoro Agenda during a conference of regional officials in Quezon City.

“That is attuned with the peace and development objectives of the Mindanao peace process, whose stakeholders are the residents of the Bangsamoro region and the Moro sectors in cities and provinces outside. We in the Ministry of Labor and Employment and in MNLF shall help push that forward,” Sema said.