ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Mindanao devider Ebrahim speaks out about BARMM leadership change

Ebrahim speaks out about BARMM leadership change

Published Sep 27, 2025 01:30 pm
EBRAHIM
EBRAHIM
DAVAO CITY – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Ahod Ebrahim broke his silence on Friday, Sept. 27, following the abrupt change of leadership in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in March this year.
Ebrahim, more popularly known as Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, said that he did not voluntarily resign.
He said he filed his resignation first before his successor Abdulraof Macacua was appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as his replacement as interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro region.
“With the sincere objective of focusing on, and preparing for, the Oct. 13, 2025 First BARMM Parliamentary Elections, I humbly signify my intent to resign as interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority,” Ebrahim said in his resignation letter addressed to the President dated March 3, 2025.
The MILF chief said that Malacanang removed him first before he was appointed as an ordinary member of the parliament of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).
“Inalis na nila muna ako bilang Chief Minister, bago ako nag-resign sa posisyon bilang MP,” said Ebrahim.
(They removed me as Chief Minister before I resigned as MP)
While the MILF does not question the appointment of Macacua, Ebrahim said that the government did not honor their recommendations.
Macacua is the chief of staff of the MILF's armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.
Ebrahim expressed disappointment over his removal that he described as unjust.
“Very insulting naman na alisin ka bilang Chief Minister, tapos ibalik ka bilang MP, na mas mababa kaysa sa dati mong posisyon.”
(Its insulting to be removed as Chief Minister, then appoint you as MP, which was lower than the position you held before)
Ebrahim’s removal from office stirred controversy as MILF followers chided Malacanang for alleged intervention on the region’s internal affairs.
The MILF Central Committee expressed disappointment over the abrupt change of leadership in the BARMM after Marcos appointed Macacua as the new interim chief minister along with other new members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.
In a statement released after the MILF’s consultative assembly, the group said that the appointment of Macacua and new BTA members bypassed their recommendations as only 35 out of the 41 recommendees were officially designated by the President.
Since the change of leadership, instability apparently ensued in the region as the implementation of the normalization track under Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) faced a stumbling block.
The MILF suspended the process of its combatants until the government substantially complies with the provisions of the Annex on Normalization in the peace agreement the two parties signed in 2014.
The MILF barred all its officials and BIAF commanders from participating in any decommissioning activities initiated by the government.
Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education under Mohagher Iqbal was the subject of special audit over alleged anomalous transactions. Iqbal, MILF vice chairman, said he welcomes the probe.
However, he questioned the timing of the audit as the region is gearing up for its first parliamentary elections.
Amid these woes, the MILF assured that it is still committed to implementation of the peace agreement, specifically on the decommissioning process.

Related Tags

MILF Ahod Ebrahim
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.