Supporters seek reappointment of ex-BARMM chief minister

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June 26, 2026 | 4:53pm

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Thousands of supporters of the former chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao staged a rally in this city on Thursday, June 25, and together urged Malacañang to reinstate him to the post.

The four-hour rally was held near the Bangsamoro regional capitol in uptown Cotabato City.

The rally, organized by a group seeking the reappointment of BARMM’s erstwhile chief minister, Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, was partly capped off with calls by participants for the national government to fully implement its 2014 peace compact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro.

The agreement, crafted with the help of Malaysia, a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, paved the way for the creation in 2019 of BARMM, replacing the then 27-year less empowered Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The OIC is a bloc of more than 50 Muslim states, including petroleum exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Ebrahim, appointed as BARMM chief minister in 2019 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, was replaced in March last year by Abdulrauf Macacua, an appointee of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Some members of the MILF participated in Thursday’s rally near the BARMM government in this city, which was guarded tightly then by police teams led by Cotabato City’s police director, Col. Jibin Bongcayao, and personnel from different units of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

The rally, led by organizers of the Recover BARMM Now Movement, was held barely three days after a large group of residents from the 37 barangays here and from towns in the Bangsamoro region’s Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces converged in this city and expressed support for Macacua’s administration and his efforts to ensure the efficiency of the regional government.

The participants in Monday’s rally, meant to show support for Macacua’s leadership of the regional government, also urged him to reboot the regional government that, for them, has not taken off since its inception in early 2019.

They also lauded Macacua for introducing reforms in regional governance, including the transparent handling by regional officials of funds earmarked for the operation and various projects of agencies they are overseeing as appointed regional officials.