Murad Ebrahim
Murad Ebrahim مراد ابرحیم | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief Minister of Bangsamoro | |
| Assumed office 22 February 2019 | |
| President | Rodrigo Duterte Bongbong Marcos |
| Deputy | Ali Solaiman(Mainland) Albakil Jikiri(Islands) |
| Wa'lī | Khalipa Usman Nando
Omarkhalid Ampatuan Said Salendab |
| Preceded by | Mujiv Hataman(Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) |
| Bangsamoro Minister of Public Works | |
| In office 26 February 2019 – 11 November 2019 | |
| Chief Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Eduard Guerra |
| Bangsamoro Minister of Finance | |
| In office 11 November 2019 – 8 February 2022 | |
| Chief Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Eduard Guerra |
| Succeeded by | Ubaida Pacasem |
| Member of theBangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament | |
| Assumed office 29 March 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ahod Balawag Ebrahim 15 May 1949 Cotabato,Philippines[1] |
| Political party | UBJP |
| Education | Notre Dame University |
| Nickname | Murad |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Moro National Liberation Front(MNLF) Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF) |
| Years of service | 1968–1977 (MNLF) 1977–present (MILF) |
Ahod Balawag Ebrahim[2](Maguindanaon pronunciation:[ahʊdbalaːwagɪbrahiːm];Jawi:احد بلاوݢ ابرحیم; born 15 May 1949), better known asAl Haj Murad Ebrahim,is aMoroFilipinopolitician and former rebel leader currently serving as the firstchief ministerof theBangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
As the current chairman of theMoro Islamic Liberation Front,aMororegionalistandIslamistarmed group in the southernPhilippines,Ebrahim is a key figure in theBangsamoro Peace Process in the Philippines.[3][4]
Early life and education[edit]
Born on 15 May 1949,[5]Murad Ebrahim was born to an Islamic preacher. He lost both of his parents at a young age; his mother when he was just one year old and his father when he was 13 years old.[6]He is the youngest among four children.[7]
Ebrahim started his elementary studies when he was seven years old and completed the six-year program in five years. He entered the Cotabato Public High School in Cotabato City for his high school studies in 1960. After graduating from high school, Ebrahim enrolled at theMindanao State UniversityinMarawiunder a scholarship but transferred to theNotre Dame Universityin Cotabato City in his second year after passing the entrance examination. He was granted a scholarship in Notre Dame by the Commission on National Integration (CIN)[7]and pursued a course on civil engineering. However he stopped his studies in his fifth and final year in college in 1970 to get more involved in the Moro movement.[6]
Militant career[edit]
Moro National Liberation Front[edit]
Murad dropped out of college to join the underground movement which fought against Christian paramilitary groups and security forces during the administration of then-presidentFerdinand Marcosallegedly targeting Muslims.[6]He adopted "Murad" as hisnom de guerrewhen he joined the Moro resistance against the government.[2]Ebrahim first got involved in the underground Moro secessionist movement as early as 1968 prior to fully committing in 1970.[7]
He was recruited into theMoro National Liberation Front(MNLF) in 1968 and was part of the "Top 300", a second batch of MNLF trainees sent to Malaysia.[2]He was appointed a zonal commander with his area of assignment covering 15 municipalities.[7]
Ebrahim led the group's Kutawato Revolutionary Committee in fighting against government forces and theIlagaparamilitary group in Central Mindanao.[2]He was Military Chairman of Kutawato from 1974 until 1978 when he was promoted as Region Chairman. WhenHashim Salamatorganized a faction within the MNLF, Ebrahim was appointed chairman of the Ad Hoc Coordinating Committee to lead the faction's activities in Mindanao, while Salamat is abroad.[7]
Moro Islamic Liberation Front[edit]
Murad left the MNLF due to ideological differences along withHashim Salamatwho formed theMoro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF).[2]In the 1980s, Ebrahim went to Afghanistan to meet with Filipino rebels fighting against the forces of theSoviet Unionamid theSoviet–Afghan Warthough he said has not fought alongside them. There he also metOsama bin Laden,who would later become the head ofAl-Qaedadescribing him as a soft-spoken and refined man who would have never thought to be declared "a world enemy".[6]
He developed a reputation within the MILF as one of its top guerrilla commanders. He served as vice chair for military affairs and as chief of staff of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed wing of the MILF before he was appointed as MILF chairman in mid-2003 to replace MILF founder Salamat who died within the same year. He also served as the group's chief negotiator in talks with the Philippine national government.[2]
Interim chief minister[edit]
Upon the passage of theBangsamoro Organic Law(BOL) in 2018 under the administration of PresidentRodrigo Duterte,Murad Ebrahim campaigned for the law's ratification by voters that would lead to the establishment of the proposedBangsamoro Autonomous Region.He was nominated by his group, the MILF, to be the chief minister of theBangsamoro Transition Authority(BTA) which would serve as the interim government in the region.[8]
On 22 February 2019, Ebrahim was appointed and sworn in by Duterte as the interim chief minister of the newly formedBangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(BARMM).[9]He leads the 80-member BTA, which will govern the five-province Bangsamoro region. Scheduled elections for the new members for the region's parliament took place in 2022.[10]
At the official turnover of the ARMM to BARMM on February 26, 2019, Ebrahim announced the members of the first Bangsamoro Cabinet, with himself as concurrent minister of public works and highways.[11]On 11 November 2019, he transferred his duties as public works minister to Finance MinisterEduard Guerra,while placing the finance ministry under the chief minister's supervision.[12][13]
His government pursued a policy of promoting "moral governance", which Ebrahim says based on "moral values of Islam" as a response to corruption and failed governance in the former ARMM.[14][15]
On February 8, 2022, Ebrahim ordered the ministers and their deputies ofhis cabinetto tender courtesy resignation while the director general of each ministry were directed to temporarily take over.[16][17]This marked the end of Ebrahim's tenure as concurrent finance minister and was succeeded by Ubaida Pacasem who took their oath on March 14, 2022.[18]
Ebrahim retained his position as interim Chief Minister when PresidentBongbong Marcosappointed a new set of members for the BTA in August 2022.[19][20]
Amid the now former President Duterte's call for thesecession of Mindanao from the Philippinesin January 2024, Ebrahim has release a statement expressing support for the sitting administration of President Marcos Jr. and declared himself committed to the peace process and setting the foundation of an autonomous Bangsamoro region.[21]
Personal life[edit]
Al Haj Murad Ebrahim is married to Hadja Lupia Ebrahim, with whom he has two children.[2]
On 14 March 2015, controversy on the citizenship of Murad arose when Philippine former interior secretary Rafael Alunan accused him of being a citizen ofMalaysia.[22][23]This allegation was denied by Malaysia and fellow MILF memberMohagher Iqbal.[24][25]
References[edit]
- ^Cochrane, Joe (5 September 2004)."The Road To Peace".Newsweek.Retrieved4 January2014.
- ^abcdefgSarmiento, Bong (23 February 2019)."Murad Ebrahim: From guerrilla commander to government official".Philippine Daily Inquirer.Retrieved3 March2019.
- ^Espejo, Edwin (14 October 2012)."Murad: From a hardliner to voice of moderation".Rappler.Retrieved4 January2014.
- ^"Murad Ebrahim, rebel who found path to peace".South China Morning Post.21 October 2012.Retrieved4 January2014.
- ^Nawal, Allan (14 October 2012)."Murad: Born fighter who rarely gets mad".Philippine Daily Inquirer.Retrieved4 January2014.
- ^abcdMacaraig, Ayee (24 February 2019)."Fighter to Chief Minister: MILF chief Murad Ebrahim's new 'struggle'".GMA News.Agence France-Presse.Retrieved24 February2019.
- ^abcde"Chief Minister's Corner: Chief".BARMM Official Website.Office of Chief Minister's Information & Communications Technology Office.Retrieved7 July2020.
- ^Arguilas, Carolyn (23 December 2018)."Murad visits Marawi's Ground Zero; vows rehab will be priority in transition gov't".MindaNews.Retrieved23 December2018.
- ^Balinbin, Arjay (22 February 2019)."MILF's Murad Ebrahim appointed Chief Minister of Bangsamoro Transition Authority as members take their oaths".BusinessWorld.Retrieved7 July2020.
- ^"MILF chair Murad is interim BARMM chief minister".22 February 2019.
- ^Arguilas, Carolyn (27 February 2019)."Murad vows a government" free of all the ills of governance; "names 10 ministers".MindaNews.Retrieved27 February2019.
- ^Macabalang, Ali (12 November 2019)."Murad reshuffles BARMM Cabinet".Manila Bulletin.Retrieved13 November2019.
- ^Arguilas, Carolyn (13 November 2019)."BARMM Cabinet reshuffled: Ebrahim to serve as Finance Minister".MindaNews.Retrieved15 November2019.
- ^Alam, Sorvar; Ul Khaliq, Riyaz (16 December 2019)."Bangsamoro chief minister focuses on moral governance".Anadolu Agency.Retrieved16 September2021.
- ^Cabrera, Ferdinandh B. (25 March 2019)."Ebrahim wants 'moral governance' for Bangsamoro".MindaNewss.Retrieved16 September2021.
- ^"Revamp in BARMM government underway".The Philippine Star.12 February 2022.Retrieved13 February2022.
- ^Rita, Joviland (23 February 2022)."BARMM ministers, deputies were asked to tender courtesy resignation for revamp —Ebrahim".GMA News.Retrieved24 February2022.
- ^"Chief Minister holds 57th Cabinet Meeting; 3 new ministers take Oath of Moral Governance".BARMM Official Website.Bangsamoro Information Office. 14 March 2022.Retrieved16 March2022.
- ^"Ebrahim retains lead post in reorganized BTA".Manila Standard.13 August 2022.Retrieved13 August2022.
- ^Arguillas, Carolyn O. (12 August 2022)."Marcos to Bangsamoro Transition Authority: no more extension; election in 2025".MindaNews.Retrieved13 August2022.
- ^"Barmm leaders oppose separation of Mindanao".SunStar.2 February 2024.Retrieved3 February2024.
- ^"Lawmaker wants Murad, Iqbal probed".Philippine News Agency.The Manila Times.14 March 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 28 February 2016.Retrieved29 February2016.
- ^"Iqbal, Murad may be using different names in passports, says BI".Philippine Daily Inquirer. 20 March 2015.Retrieved28 February2016.
- ^"Malaysia: MILF's Murad, Iqbal not Malaysian citizens".Rappler. 17 March 2015.Retrieved28 February2016.
- ^"Iqbal releases copy of Philippine passport".Rappler. 16 March 2015.Retrieved28 February2016.