COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Establishment of the parliament of the Philippines' southern Muslim-majority autonomous region, whose members were chosen in the first election on Sept. 14, has been viewed by many residents as a key milestone toward self-governance and lasting peace after decades of conflict.
Abdulraof Macacua, a former military chief of the country's largest Islamic revolutionary group and leader of the autonomous region's interim government, was elected the region's chief minister by a majority of the parliament's members Friday, when the interim administration that began in 2019 ended.
Civilians and former combatants in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM, experienced improved living conditions and security under the interim government formed as part of a peace deal reached in 2014 between the central government and the Islamic revolutionary group.
Burhan Undalayan, 57, a former combatant in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that had fought Philippine forces for decades, said he has discouraged his children and grandchildren from treading the path of armed rebellion "so they can just go to school."
The resident of Nabalawag in the Bangsamoro region in Mindanao, the second-largest island of the Philippines, said "life was hard" for him and his family during the Islamic group's armed struggle.
The Bangsamoro, or Moro, are descendants of peoples who inhabited Mindanao and the nearby Sulu archipelago before Spanish colonization.
While insurgency by the ethnic group dates back to the colonial era, organized struggle against the Philippine government, whose population is largely Christian, was launched in the late 1960s by an Islamic revolutionary group that predated the formation of the MILF.
Breaking away from the group, the MILF launched its own armed struggle in the 1970s. Until the MILF and the central government signed the 2014 peace deal, millions of people were displaced and at least 150,000 combatants and civilians died, according to government estimates.
Undalayan took part in the conflict for more than a decade until 2000, when he had to quit due to an illness that required him to undergo leg amputation. He then became a fisherman and later a recipient of the interim government's social welfare program for people with disabilities, receiving free prosthetic legs and financial aid that he uses for his children's education.
"There is no more chaos" in Undalayan's life, and his livelihood has improved since the interim government took office, he said in the lead-up to the Sept. 14 election.
In Datu Odin Sinsuat, a suburban town to the region's capital Cotabato City, Hessa Ladiasan, a 21-year-old university student, said she expects the new government of the autonomous region to offer young people more opportunities for learning, including abroad.
Her father Rasid took an active role in peace talks on behalf of the MILF before he died 10 years ago. Hessa's younger sister, whom Rasid named Heisei after the Japanese era during which Japan offered assistance with the peace talks and regional development, said she hopes for a safer environment and strict enforcement of the law.
"Without safety, it will be difficult for us (children) to really enjoy" exploring places in the town, said Heisei, 15.
The MILF decommissioned many of its troops but has yet to decommission more 14,000 fighters, saying some of the central government's socioeconomic interventions for the first batches under the peace deal have yet to be fulfilled.
During the Sept. 14 poll, shootings and explosions occurred, and the MILF's United Bangsamoro Justice Party said its five supporters died in the incidents. The UBJP is a rival of Macacua's Bangsamoro Federalist Party, which is perceived to be aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s party advocating for a federal system.
Despite the unfinished peace process, the region of over 4.5 million people recorded 5.0 percent economic growth in 2025, driven by a boost in the services sector. Poverty incidence among households in the region dropped in the same year to 12.8 percent from 26 percent in 2023, helping it shed its reputation as the poorest region in the country.
Marcos, who addressed the Bangsamoro parliament Friday, affirmed the central government's support for the region as it enters a new phase of autonomy.
"On the part of the national government, we will continue to expand economic opportunities for Mindanao as the Bangsamoro enters this new important chapter," Marcos said.
Macacua, after he was selected as chief minister of the autonomous region in the parliamentary vote Friday, said, "We reaffirm our commitment to constructive cooperation, mutual respect, and a shared pursuit of lasting peace and development."
UBJP President and MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim lost to Macacua in the parliamentary vote but vowed that the UBJP will continue contributing to the welfare of the Bangsamoro people, pledging its support for efforts to achieve a peaceful and progressive region.
Before the parliament was set up, the interim regional government's Economics Division said the new government's leadership should prioritize strengthening local production and accelerating public investments.
"There is a nexus between development and peace...If you have development, people will not entertain radical thoughts that would encourage the use of arms in resolving conflict," said Raissa Jajurie, who served as Social Services and Development Minister of the interim government before joining the new government as one of the representatives of the UBJP.
"I think the ministry's programs that reach out to the vulnerable sectors definitely help give that hope and maintain the peace that we are enjoying now."
"We don't want backsliding in the peace process. And to do that, all hands should be on deck - meaning, the BARMM government, national government and international development partners," she said.
