COTABATO CITY, Philippines โ Six lawmakers in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament have filed a bill seeking to institutionalize an annual recognition program that rewards outstanding local leaders in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The proposed Salamat Excellence Award for Leadership (SEAL) Act of 2025 aims to promote a culture of good governance by honoring city, municipal, and provincial chief executives who demonstrate exceptional leadership in public service.
Under the measure, each awardee will receive a gold medallion and a financial grant of up to P20 million. It requires the grant to fund community-based projects.
SEAL Award Program
Naguib Sinarimbo is the principal author of the bill. He is a lawyer and former interior minister of BARMM. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently appointed him to the BTA Parliament.
Co-authors include regional lawmakers Abdullah Hashim, Romeo Sema, Rashdi Adiong, Alirakim Munder, and Amer Zaakaria Rakim.
Sinarimbo told reporters on Friday, April 18, that the initiative builds on the existing SEAL Award program, which was launched in 2022 under the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) when he was still at its helm.
โIt is time to institutionalize this through regional legislation,โ he said.
Lawmakers: Step Toward Accountability, Performance-Based Recognition
The SEAL Award aims to recognize high-performing local executives across BARMMโs five provinces and three cities. Since its inception, it has become an annual highlight for the MILG, with awardees selected based on merit, innovation in governance, and measurable impact on their communities.
The award is named after the late MILF founder Sheik Salamat Hashim, who studied Islamic theology at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. He broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to establish the MILF in 1981. Hashimโs legacy continues to influence the regionโs governance ethos, especially following the 2019 creation of BARMM, which replaced the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
BARMM is a product of the peace process between the MILF and the Philippine government, with both the MILF and MNLF now represented in the 80-member regional parliament. Many of their leaders are currently serving in key ministries and regional agencies as they help steer the region through its post-conflict transition.
If enacted, the SEAL Act would serve as a concrete step toward institutionalizing accountability and performance-based recognition in BARMM, as it continues to navigate the challenges of self-rule, inclusive development, and peacebuilding.
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