COTABATO CITY — Prospective Moro and Christian candidates have joined an emerging conservative party to challenge the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the September 2026 Bangsamoro elections.
Members of the Bangsamoro Parliament aligned with Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua have organized the Bangsamoro Federalists Party (BFP), a regional affiliate of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), the ruling party of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Bangsamoro Member of Parliament Susana Salvador Anayatin has been named BFP’s first nominee representing Christian settler communities, while business leader Narciso Yu Ekey is seeking to become the second nominee.
Naguib Sinarimbo, one of UBJP’s early organizers, has also been invited to join the BFP, with his chief of staff, lawyer Dayan Andoy, taking an active role in the new party after a convention in Davao City.
UBJP remains dominant following victories in the 2024 midterm elections, but internal divisions within the MILF—particularly over leadership between Abdulraof Macacua and former chief minister Ahod Al-Hadj Murad Ebrahim—have intensified political competition ahead of the parliamentary vote.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Conservative BFP to challenge MILF’s UBJP in BARMM polls”
