The first elected Bangsamoro Parliament picks Macacua 51 to 27, seats a Cabinet of 19 and argues over whether it has a minority

October 30: the oath, the President and the roll call

The September 14 election filled 80 seats: 40 by party list, 32 by district and 8 by sector. The Bangsamoro Federal Party took 31 and the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, took 30, leaving neither with the 41 needed to govern. On October 14 in Davao City 46 members signed a Government of the Day coalition. By the morning of October 30 the bloc had 51 names: 31 from BFP, 12 from the Bangsamoro Grand Coalition, 4 from UBJP, 2 from the Non Moro Indigenous Peoples party, 1 from Raayat Democratic and 1 from PRO Bangsamoro.

The inaugural session opened in Cotabato City with 79 of 80 members present; BGC president Abdulrahman Rubbil Mangudadatu was ill. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke for about eight minutes, called the seating of an elected parliament a victory for the entire nation, and left before the vote. The members then took the Oath of Moral Governance before Wali Sheikh Muslim Guiamaden.

The roll call for Chief Minister went 51 for Abdulraof "Sammy" Macacua, 69, the BFP member for Maguindanao del Norte's third district, and 27 for Ahod "Al Haj Murad" Ebrahim, 78, MILF chairman since July 2003 and the region's first Chief Minister. Datu Bimbo Sinsuat of BGC abstained. Ali Sangki of the Itihad party under BGC voted for Murad; the other 12 BGC members and 3 UBJP members voted for Macacua. Macacua, a former chief of staff of the MILF's armed wing, was dropped from the MILF slate before the election but remains a member of the front, according to Murad and peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal. Marcos had appointed him interim Chief Minister in March 2025.

The same session elected Amer Zaakaria "Mikee" Adiong Rakim of BGC, 35, as Speaker, 51 votes to 27 over Mohammad Yacob, 76. Macacua named Mamintal Adiong III of Lanao del Sur and Hadjimar Matba of Tawi Tawi, from PRO Bangsamoro, as deputy chief ministers, satisfying the Bangsamoro Organic Law's rule that one come from the mainland and one from the islands. The parliament elected ten deputy speakers: Abrar Hataman, Ibrahim Ibay, Rhosatina Matolo de Asis and Suwaib Oranon of BFP; Ahmad Amir Balindong, Tawakal Midtimbang and Lampa Pandi of UBJP; Hosni Macapodi and Amilbahar Mawalil of BGC; and Jose Lorena of Raayat. Johari Abu of BFP became Majority Floor Leader with eight deputies, and 24 committee chairs were filled.

The fight over a minority the rules do not recognize

The argument began when MP Mary Ann Arnado of UBJP objected to a committee lineup that gave her bloc no minority floor leader and no say in naming deputy speakers. She called it "tyranny of the majority," then withdrew her motion, saying the bloc would "fight it another day."

MP Naguib Sinarimbo, who days later became education minister, said the question belonged in committee and in new rules of procedure, since the interim parliament's rules were "patterned after Congress." MP Ishak Mastura argued the body should adopt a Government of the Day and Opposition model with a shadow cabinet. Iqbal, now an ordinary MP, said "the real test of democracy is hearing the voices of the minority." Lorena, the Raayat deputy speaker, answered that "all MPs are equal." The first interim parliament had a majority leader, Lanang Ali Jr., and a minority leader, Laisa Alamia; the post was dropped in the second interim body, and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority ran for seven years and eight months without one.

November 5: a Cabinet of 19, seven of them lawyers

On November 5, less than a week after taking office, Macacua announced 19 appointments covering 15 ministries, one agency and three posts in the Office of the Chief Minister. A Search and Screening Committee led by Jordan Bayam had reviewed more than 60 applicants, and the announcement was streamed on the regional government's Facebook page. Engineer Basir Ibrahim, who is not an MP, takes the Ministry of Public Works. Sinarimbo takes the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education, the region's largest, after serving as interior minister from 2019 to 2023. Alirakim Munder goes to Social Services and Development, MP Jimael Salam Salliman to Health, Mastura to Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform, MP Hanie Bud to Science and Technology, and Datu Jomar Midtimbang, also not an MP, to Public Order and Safety.

MP Kitem Kadatuan Jr. takes Labor and Employment, Faizal Padate Trade, Investments and Tourism, MP Jo Genna Jover of the Non Moro Indigenous Peoples party, the only appointee from a party other than BFP, Indigenous Peoples' Affairs, and MP Rashdi Adiong Human Settlements and Development. Four ministers were kept from the interim government: Ubaida Pacasem at Finance, Budget and Management, MP Akmad Brahim at Environment, Natural Resources and Energy, Bayam at Interior and Local Government, and Termizie Masahud at Transportation and Communications. Laisa Alamia heads the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority. In the Office of the Chief Minister, Abdullah Cusain is cabinet secretary, MP Abunawas Maslamama senior minister, Mohammad Asnin Pendatun assistant senior minister and Judge Duque Kadatuan attorney general. Seven of the 19 are lawyers.

"Today, we mark a defining moment in our history," Macacua said at the announcement. "To my fellow Bangsamoro, this government is yours. We will pursue a policy of moral governance, integrity, and accountability." He added: "We commit to sustaining the gains of the peace process and ensuring that the dividends of autonomy are felt in every household and every community." The appointees took their oaths individually on November 6 and sat for a first Cabinet meeting the same day.

November 9: deputy ministers and a Marawi program manager

On November 9 Macacua swore in four deputy ministers: Abubakar Katambak at education; Nur Ainee Tan Lim at social services, the first nominee of the Mahardika Party and the only woman among the four; Edchamcy Abelardo at indigenous peoples' affairs; and Engineer Dimaporo Diocolano at labor. MP Dr. Camid Gandamra Jr. was named program manager for the Marawi Rehabilitation Program. The Chief Minister calls his agenda "Mas Matatag na Bangsamoro." Senate President Chiz Escudero and Executive Secretary Ralph Recto sent congratulations after the October 30 vote.

What is still open

Three things remain unsettled. The parliament has not adopted its own rules of procedure, so the minority question Arnado raised has no forum yet. The Grand Coalition's request to the President on MILF decommissioning, made when the coalition formed, has not been answered in public. And the MILF, which negotiated the autonomy law and ran the region for seven years, now sits across the aisle from a Chief Minister it still counts as a member.

The budget comes next. The interim parliament approved ₱114.1 billion for 2026; the 2027 appropriation will be the first the elected body passes, and the first in which 27 votes on the other side are counted.