NEWS




4June
(Photo taken from MP Romeo Sema's Facebook Page.)

Chief Minister Ebrahim names MNLF official as BARMM minister of labor, employment

Cotabato City – Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim (aka Al Hajj Murad) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has appointed Romeo K. Sema as Minister of Labor and Employment (MOLE) of the BARMM.  The appointment was announced at the flag ceremony attended by BARMM employees Monday morning.

“Today, I gladly accept a great challenge toward the realization of the aspirations of the Bangsamoro.  I have been appointed by Interim Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim as minister of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE-BARMM),” Sema posted in his Facebook page early on Monday.

This was confirmed later by BARMM Executive Secretary Abdullah Cosain.

“As a revolutionary and public servant, I commit my life to work to build a better Bangsamoro,” Sema said.

Nominated by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Sema is a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) early this year.

The Central Committee of the MNLF under the chairmanship of former Sulu provincial governor and congressman Yusoph Jikiri elected Sema as vice chairmen for political affairs on February 19, 2017.

During the time of Mujiv Hataman as regional governor of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Sema served as chairman Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission (RRUC) from 2016 to 2019.

He was the executive director of commissioner in the RRUC in 2011 and its executive director in 2010.

As a member of the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) in 2012, he was the chairman of the Committee on Rules and Amendments and vice chairman of the Committee on Peace and Security.

From 2001 to 2002, Sema served as the national co-director of the Special Zone of Peace and Development (SZOPAD) Rehabilitation Project, a project funded by the European Union.

His first stint with the defunct ARMM, however, was his appointment as executive assistant in the office of the cabinet secretary under the Office of the Regional Governor from 1996 to 1999.