Islamist Insurgency and Terrorism Report – April 2025
In April 2025, PSA Intelligence recorded two Islamist insurgency-related violent incidents, an armed encounter and a bombing incident.
PSA recorded two Islamist-related violent incidents in April 2025, which were both reported in the province of Maguindanao del Sur. The first incident involved unidentified suspects who lobbed three grenades at the Municipal Hall compound and a nearby business establishment in Buluan, injuring one civilian. Meanwhile, the second incident was perpetrated by suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) who were involved in an armed clash with government troops in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, with no reported casualties.
PSA expects to record more violent incidents that are potentially election-related or criminally motivated as the midterm elections approaches. These incidents may overlap with violent incidents attributed to Islamist militants. The highlighted incidents during the period underscore the risk of violence in the Bangsamoro region during the election period, but do not necessarily point to a worsening security situation as of this time.
The Bangsamoro Parliament opened its fourth regular session on April 8, with newly appointed Interim Chief Minister Abdulra of “Sammy Gambar” Macacua underscoring the parliament’s need to act on priority legislation ahead of the region’s first parliamentary elections in October this year. These mainly include the reappropriation of the region’s parliamentary districts, particularly the seven vacant seats after the Supreme Court excluded Sulu province from the region in September 2024, as well as the Bangsamoro Revenue Code.
Significant developments concerning the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)-led Bangsamoro Government were recorded in March amid leadership changes concerning the new interim chief minister and new Bangsamoro Transition Authority members. The MILF has expressed their doubt and disagreement with the recent overhaul of the Bangsamoro Parliament, including statements from the former chief minister and the group’s chairman Ahod Ebrahim. Sentiments from other stakeholders are clearly divided, but the Philippine government asserted the validity of the appointments. At present, analysts have not observed any significant changes to the security situation in BARMM but remain cautious due to the region’s historically volatile security environment.
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