In the hills and towns of Maguindanao del Norte, a region born from decades of armed struggle and a hard-won peace, the Bangsamoro people are preparing to choose their first elected parliamentary representatives in September 2026. At the center of this moment stands Abdulraof Macacua — former commander of the MILF's armed wing, now interim chief minister — whose bid for a single parliamentary seat in the 3rd district carries the weight of an entire region's political future. Should he win, he becomes eligible to be chosen as BARMM's first elected chief minister, a threshold that would mark the