Ex-BARMM minister Naguib Sinarimbo seeks Cotabato seat in region’s parliament

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Former Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) interior minister Naguib Sinarimbo filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Thursday, November 7, seeking a seat in the regional parliament in Cotabato City.

Sinarimbo, who submitted his COC as a candidate of the BARMM Grand Coalition-Serbisyong Inklusibo-Alyansang Progresibo (BGC-SIAP), is aiming to represent Cotabato City’s 2nd parliamentary district.

He filed his COC together with Bangsamoro Member of Parliament Romeo Sema, who is set to face former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Sheriff Abas in the 2025 race for Cotabato’s 1st District.

Abas filed his COC with the Comelec in Cotabato on Wednesday, November 6, as a candidate under the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the political arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which currently governs the region through the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

An independent candidate, Dick Datumanong, previously filed his COC for the 2nd parliamentary district seat. Aside from Datumanong, Sinarimbo is also expected to face a UBJP-backed contender.

Sinarimbo was once a political ally of BARMM’s leaders until he resigned as BARMM’s interior minister on December 7, 2023.

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim accepted Sinarimbo’s courtesy resignation, one of 15 regional ministers asked to step down to facilitate Ebrahim’s efforts to reorganize the regional government’s bureaucracy.

Sinarimbo was succeeded by BTA Floor Leader Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, who was appointed the same day to lead BARMM’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Governance (MILG).

Sinarimbo later joined SIAP, the political party of the Adiong political family in Lanao del Sur, which joined forces with other parties to challenge BARMM’s leadership in the 2025 elections. 

In April, Sinarimbo voiced confidence in the coalition’s candidates, saying they had a better grasp of regional issues than the current leadership.

“It has become a perennial problem to connect the aspirations of local governments on the ground with the BARMM regional government, which is run by former rebels. As a result, the delivery of key services was affected,” Sinarimbo said in an earlier report.

He added that the coalition would field candidates closely connected with local governments and well-versed in local governance dynamics. – Rappler.com