Cotabato Governor, Moro leaders, BARMM Officials Deepen Cooperation On Peacebuilding

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The provincial government of Cotabato and key leaders of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), along with senior officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), are strengthening cooperation on peacebuilding and development initiatives in Mindanao.

Officials and peace advocates have welcomed the sustained collaboration between Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, a non-Moro leader from Region 12, and BARMM authorities, as well as leaders of the MILF and MNLF—two groups with separate peace agreements with the national government.

Peace and sustainable development

Both the MILF and MNLF hold seats in the 80-member BARMM Parliament based in Cotabato City and jointly participate in the leadership of several ministries and support agencies of the Bangsamoro regional government.

Last week, Taliño-Mendoza paid courtesy visits to MILF Central Committee chair Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, who served as BARMM chief minister from 2019 to March 2025, and to Muhaquer Iqbal, the current BARMM minister of education.

In separate dialogues, they discussed the role of multi-sectoral cooperation in advancing peace and sustainable development in Mindanao.

Taliño-Mendoza, who also chairs the influential Regional Development Council 12, has long been known as a vocal supporter of the government’s peace process with Moro communities in BARMM and other parts of Mindanao.

Members of the BARMM Parliament active in peace and community development initiatives welcomed the continued partnership. These include Health Minister Kadil Sinolinding Jr., former Cotabato provincial board member Mohammad Kellie Antao, and Ishak Mastura, a former senior official of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Cotabato Governor Continuing Support

In separate statements on Tuesday, December 23, the three officials thanked Taliño-Mendoza and her constituent mayors for continuing to provide public services to residents of 63 barangays in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area (SGA) in Cotabato province.

The barangays have been part of BARMM’s core territory since 2019, even though they are no longer under the administrative jurisdiction of the province.

The 63 barangays were previously under municipalities in Cotabato province and are now part of eight newly created Bangsamoro municipalities established by the BARMM Parliament earlier this year.

MNLF chair and BARMM Labor and Employment Minister Muslimin Sema said families of MNLF members in Cotabato are among the beneficiaries of public service programs implemented by Taliño-Mendoza and local mayors.

In separate remarks, Sema and BARMM Chief Minister Abdulrauf Macacua—who also serves as head of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces of the MILF—said the joint peace and security initiatives of the Cotabato provincial government and local chief executives have contributed significantly to maintaining stability in Moro-dominated communities and in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area.

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Jerick Wee Ostrea

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