BARMM chief minister speeds up Cabinet formation
COTABATO CITY—Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua has given the selection committee for top positions in the Bangsamoro government until 5 p.m. today to submit the possible appointees to his Cabinet.
The positions to be filled include at least 15 ministers and deputy ministers, and a number of heads of offices and deputy heads of offices.
The new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) administration is expediting the formation of its Cabinet for the continued smooth operations of various ministries and offices, as well as the preparation of the proposed 2027 Bangsamoro General Appropriations Act.
Macacua said the Bangsamoro Parliament is targeting the passage of the proposed regional budget before its December recess, making the immediate appointment of officials to head various government agencies crucial to the budget preparation process.
Apply first
He has created a search and screening committee to evaluate applicants and prospective nominees to top government positions in the BARMM.
The need to apply for the top-tier positions came on the heels of the assumption of the first elected set of members of the Bangsamoro Parliament on Oct. 30, whose mandate is until June 30, 2031.
At the onset of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority in 2019, which was made up of nominees approved by the President, then interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim opened up a competitive selection, but those were for the 40,000 rank-and-file regular, contractual and job order positions across the bureaucracy.
Macacua formed the selection committee for ministerial and other top-tier positions through Memorandum Circular No. 0147, Series of 2026, which was published in the Bangsamoro Gazette, the official journal of the regional government. The circular was dated Oct. 30, and was released by the Records Division of the Office of the Chief Minister on the same day.
Screening panel
Jordan Bayam, who served as minister of the interior and local government during the Bangsamoro transition government, chairs the six-member panel with Member of Parliament (MP) Tomanda Antok as the vice chair. The members are MP Kitem Kadatuan Jr., MP Naguib Sinarimbo, lawyer Dayan Lao Andoy and Tamano Macacua.
The committee was created “in the interest of public service, good governance, transparency, accountability, and the promotion of merit and fitness in public office,” Macacua stated in the circular.
“The creation of the committee is intended to establish a systematic, objective, and transparent process for identifying and assessing qualified individuals who possess the necessary competence, integrity, professional experience, leadership capabilities, and commitment to the principles and objectives of the Bangsamoro Government,” he said.
Macacua directed the committee to set the criteria for judging applicants, review and verify their application documents and qualification, and interview them.
The committee would then prepare a shortlist and submit it to the chief minister, who will make the appointment.
The circular requires the committee to keep its proceedings, deliberations and records confidential and impartial, subject to applicable laws and disclosure requirements.
It must also follow the eligibility, appointment and qualification rules set by the Bangsamoro Organic Law, civil service rules and other issuance covering the positions.
Scout for best people
Sinarimbo, a member of the screening committee, recently told journalists in Davao City that Macacua, who then had the numbers to be elected as chief minister, preferred the creation of a committee to screen candidates for ministers, deputy ministers, heads of offices, and deputy heads of offices to govern the first elected BARMM government.
“Let us scout the best people,” Sinarimbo quoted Macacua as saying.
In the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), he said they asked the region’s provincial governors to recommend nominees for top posts in the regional government.
Sinarimbo served as executive secretary in 2009 to then ARMM Gov. Ansaruddin “Hooky” Adiong, who assumed the post after regional governor Zaldy Ampatuan was arrested in connection with the Maguindanao massacre on Nov. 23, 2009, which claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 media workers.
Unlike in the previous ARMM where the provincial governors were asked for recommendations, the BARMM under Macacua is publicly seeking applications for top-level executive positions.
In an official announcement released on Monday, the BARMM government urged interested applicants to submit a letter of intent and personal data sheet, including work experience, to [email protected].
