MNLF chairman now BARMM’s labor minister

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Peace activists were elated with the designation this week of the chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as new labor minister of the Bangsamoro region.

MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema was designated on March 8 as labor minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao by Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim.

Sema had served as mayor of Cotabato City for three consecutive terms.

Ebrahim is chairman of the central committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The MNLF and the MILF have separate peace agreements with the national government.

North Cotabato Vice. Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza said Saturday she was elated with BARMM's having involved someone from the MNLF, its top official no less, to help manage the regional government.

Mendoza is a staunch supporter of the government’s separate peace overtures with the MNLF and the MILF.

“The MILF, whose chairman is chief minister of BARMM, is true to its commitment that there shall be inclusivity in its peace and socio-economic initiatives for the autonomous region,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza and the MNLF communities in North Cotabato under Sema are together in common peace and development activities.

The BARMM government also has separate ministries for the region’s indigenous people and settler communities.

For members of the Kampilan Press Corps covering the peace-building activities of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, Sema’s having gotten to the helm of the Ministry of Labor and Employment is essential to multi-sector efforts promoting solidarity among communities separately led by the MILF and the MNLF.

The MNLF and the government forged a final peace pact on Sept. 2, 1996.

Malacañang and the MILF had two compacts --- the 2012 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and, subsequently, the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro --- that paved the way for BARMM’s creation in 2019.

An ethnic Maguindanaon traditional datu, Midpantao Midtimbang, said Saturday he is glad with the accommodation of Sema into the BARMM leadership core.

“It is good for the Mindanao peace process,” Midtimbang, a popular peace advocate, said.

Sema told reporters Saturday he has accepted the post for it can be a “springboard” in furthering peace and sustainable development in BARMM.

“It’s another way forward. A big challenge,” Sema said

Sema’s designation, effective March 8, 2022, was signed by Ebrahim, who is at the helm of the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority, also known as BARMM’s interim parliament.

Sema replaced his nephew, Romeo Sema, as BARMM’s labor minister.

The younger Sema,  who is vice chairman for political affairs of the MNLF, shall remain as member of the Bangsamoro interim parliament. 

The groups of Sema and Ebrahim are cooperating in setting up an efficient BARMM government, established only in 2019 as a result of 22 years of peace talks between Malacañang and the MILF.