Profile of Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua

On a warm Sunday that’s filled with an atmosphere of hope and aspiration, September 13, 1957, the son of Macacua W. Tubo-Tubo and Salma B. Macacua was born in Gambar, Maguindanao. Little did they know that their newborn son, Abdulraof A. Macacua, would someday bring a source of leadership and cultural commitment to their land — the future Bangsamoro.

As early as 1971, the young Abdulraof Macacua, a.k.a. Sammy Gambar, entered the military as part of the fight towards the right to self-determination of the Bangsamoro people. Engaging in local and even foreign military training, he was bringing with him a principle that would benefit the people of Mindanao: the hunger for total independence. As years passed while being a part of the revolution and holding in his hand an aim for a better Bangsamoro, Sammy consistently increased in military rank as he finally became the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) Chief-of-Staff and a member of the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel. Indeed, despite the continued challenges he encountered since childhood until his time in military, what pushed him was his vision for a Bangsamoro where the people finally have rights to their land and rights to exercise their history and culture more freely.

Now a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, Bangsamoro Transition Authority, and the Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy, Sammy’s fervent hope for the Bangsamoro has even grown further. Through the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, he aims to faithfully exercise his power to strengthen the current programs and future projects of the environmental agency and work towards a greener and climate-smart Bangsamoro.

A thoughtful father to his 7 children, Sammy hopes to impart his values and experience into his family as the present generation will eventually bring an even more positive impact to the future Bangsamoro. Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua has always been for the Bangsamoro and he always will be.