6 BARMM officials reinstated as revamp efforts proceed

July 6, 2025 | 4:05pm

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The chief minister of the Bangsamoro region had retained six officials of big agencies from among more than 30 whom he ordered last month to resign as prelude to a revamp in the regional bureaucracy.

Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulrauf Macacua told reporters on Sunday that he has declined the courtesy resignation of six of his subordinate-ministers, Akmad Brahim, natural resources; Ubaida Pacasem, budget and finance; Kadil M. Sinolinding, health; Muslimin Sema, labor and employment; Raissa Jajurie, social services; and Jehan Usop, science and technology.

“We are still evaluating the performance, in the past years, of other heads of different ministries and the chiefs of support agencies under the regional government as basis for their retention, or replacement,” Macacua told reporters via text message.

Officials of the eight newly-established Bangsamoro municipalities in Cotabato province in Region 12 had said that they are grateful to Macacua for declining the courtesy resignation of  Sinolinding, a Maguindanaon physician-ophthalmologist trained in India, and the lawyer Jajurie, a Tausug from Sulu province.

“Their ministries already have functional public service networks in the Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province and in two nearby towns in Maguindanao del Sur, Pagalungan and Datu Montawal. We are glad that they will remain in their offices,” said Pagalungan Mayor Abdillah Mamasabulod.

The Special Geographic Area, most known by its acronym SGA, covers 63 barangays in different towns in Cotabato province in Region 12, whose residents voted in favor of the inclusion of their domains into the core territory of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao during a plebiscite in 2019.

Mayor Esmael Mama of Ligawasan, one of the eight towns in the SGA, said they are assured of the continuation of the joint eye care missions of Sinolinding and his immediate superior, Macacua, for marginalized villagers in their municipality.

“We are also grateful that our chief minister declined the resignation from office of our natural resources minister,” said Mama, referring to Brahim, an official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Sema, who has been at the helm of the Ministry of Labor and Employment-BARMM for about three years now, is chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front.

The MILF and the MNLF, which have separate peace agreements with the national government, are together overseeing the operations of a number of agencies under Macacua’s office. Both Fronts also have representatives in the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament.

“We in Cotabato province are glad with the reinstatement of Minister Sema because there are so many MNLF members in the municipalities under my jurisdiction and in adjoining barangays composing the SGA that were carved out from municipalities under our province,” Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza said.