BARMM group urges PBBM, Murad dialogue

A Bangsamoro civic group urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to meet with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairperson Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, as one meeting could pave the way to end a conflict that began 50 years ago.

Alliance for Moral Advancement and New BARMM for All - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao convenor Sultan Alim Saad Amate aired the call on Monday, saying Mr. Marcos has 20 months to help end the decades-long conflict by starting with a meeting with Murad, who requested it in a 1 October letter.

Amate said, “Fifty years. Twenty months. One meeting,” noting that the 1976 Tripoli Agreement was signed under the President’s father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., adding, “Father opened. Son can close.”

AMANA said about 14,000 former MILF fighters are still waiting to lay down their arms, with no one having done so since July 2024.

Marcos appointee

The group noted that Marcos appointed former MILF chief of staff Abdulraof Macacua as interim Bangsamoro chief minister in March 2025, replacing Murad.

But it said the leadership change did not shift the fighters’ allegiance away from the MILF chairman. Alvin Murcia

The civic group also pointed out that Marcos has met with Macacua and leaders of the BARMM Grand Coalition since the 14 September elections, but has yet to meet Murad, the MILF leader whose group is a government partner in the peace agreement.