(UPDATED) The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has a new interim chief minister, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has learned.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Abdulraof Macacua to replace Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Ahod Balawag “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim in the position.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro confirmed the appointment. “Confirming the appointment as Interim Chief Minister of BARMM,” she told PCIJ on Sunday, March 9.

BARMM spokesperson Mohd Asnin Pendatun also confirmed the appointment on Monday, March 10, a day after PCIJ published this report.

Macacua has yet to take his oath and assume office as of this writing. Once he does, he is expected to reorganize leadership of BARMM ministries.

Ebrahim and Macacua are both members of the MILF, the former rebel group leading BARMM’s transition government. The MILF agreed to drop its secession bid in exchange for a political settlement that led to the creation of the BARMM in 2019.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which created BARMM, the interim government should be led by MILF. The first regular elections in the region will be held on October 13, 2025.

“BARMM will remain MILF-led,” Pendatun told PCIJ in a phone interview on Monday.

Macacua is the chief of staff of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF).

He is returning to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), BARMM’s parliament, where he served from 2019 until his appointment as OIC governor of Maguindanao del Norte in 2023.

Pendatun told PCIJ said the two MILF leaders were present in a meeting at Camp Darapanan, the MILF headquarters, on Sunday to discuss the leadership ship.

As Macacua takes charge of the parliament, Ebrahim will be focusing on the MILF’s preparations for the first parliamentary elections in the BARMM, Pendatun said.

Macacua is expected to serve as interim chief minister for seven months or until the winners in the region’s first elections are sworn in after the October 2025 elections, a new date set by a law passed last month.

The intent to appoint new members to the transition government was clear in the identical bills filed by Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez in November 2024 to reset BARMM’s elections from May 12, 2025.

The original bills sought to reset the BARMM elections to May 2026, but Republic Act No. 121231 set the new date to Oct. 13, 2025.

According to the law, the BTA members will continue to serve in the transition government “unless such interim members are replaced by the president or their tenure is shortened by their election to a different office.”

Ebrahim and Macacua are both running for parliament seats in the October elections.

Ebrahim is the top nominee of the MILF’s regional political party, United Bangsamoro Justice Party.

Macacua filed his certificate of candidacy to run for the district seat of Maguindanao del Norte. — PCIJ.org