Sheriff Manimbayan Abas (born May 5, 1979) is a Filipino lawyer who served as chairman of the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(COMELEC) from 2017 to 2022, overseeing the 2018 barangay elections, the

2019 Bangsamoro autonomy plebiscite The 2019 Bangsamoro autonomy plebiscite was a two-part plebiscite held in Mindanao, Philippines, that ratified the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in ...

, and the 2019 general election. Aged 38 at his appointment, he is the youngest person and the first Muslim to serve as COMELEC chairman.

Early life and education

Sheriff M. Abbas was born on May 5, 1979. He attended the

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic religious order o ...

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ; Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Cotabato''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, inde ...

where he obtained a degree in philosophy in 1999. He finished his law studies at the

Ateneo de Davao University Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU; ) is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution in Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines. It is run by the Philippine Jesuit Province. Before the Jesuits took over administration of the schoo ...

in 2004 and passed the

Philippine Bar Examinations The Philippine Bar Examinations is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee. History ...

the following year.

Career

Civil Service Commission

Abas worked at the now defunct

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (; ''Al-ḥukm adh-dhātī al-'iqlīmī li-muslimī Mindanāu''; ARMM) was an Autonomous regions of the Philippines, autonomous region of the Philippines, located in the Mindanao Island groups of the P ...

(ARMM) office of the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission (also known as a Public Service Commission) is a government agency or public body that is established by the constitution, or by the legislature, to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, overse ...

(CSC) as a lawyer and acting assistant regional director. He was with the CSC from June 2007 to April 2015.

Commission on Election

BOL plebiscite ceremonial confirmation of results 2

Abas was appointed as a commissioner for the

(Comelec) in 2015 by president

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

on April 28, 2015. His appointment was questioned due to his then unconfirmed relationship with

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ) is an Islamist group based in Mindanao, Philippines, which sought an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, t ...

(MILF) peace negotiator

Mohagher Iqbal Datucan M. Abas, better known by his ''nom de guerre'' of Mohagher Iqbal, is a Filipino politician and former rebel who is a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front where he served as chair of the group's peace panel. Currently serving as t ...

and according to critics his supposed lack of reputation among Muslim lawyers. His assignment to the Comelec came in when the

Bangsamoro Basic Law The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL; ), also known as the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), and officially designated as Republic Act No. 11054, is a Philippine law that provided for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindana ...

, the proposed charter of a

Bangsamoro Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM; ; ), is an autonomous region in the Philippines, located in the southwestern portion of the island of Mindanao. Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Minda ...

autonomous region is still being debated in the Congress causing concerns that the MILF may have undue influence in a future plebiscite. Abas was later appointed by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

to be the Comelec chairman through a directive on November 22, 2017 succeeding Andres Bautista who resigned the prior month. He became the first Comelec chairman who is from

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

and the first Muslim head. He is also the youngest election chief at age 38. He is also the first commissioner to be promoted to chairman. He oversaw the conduct of the Bangsamoro autonomy plebiscite in January and February 2019 and the Philippine mid-term general elections in May of the same year. Abas retired from the Comelec after his term as chairman expired on February 2, 2022 as scheduled.

2025 Bangsamoro Parliament election

Abas on November 6, 2024 filed his candidacy to run for the position of representative of the 1st parliamentary district of

at the

Bangsamoro Parliament The Bangsamoro Parliament is the legislature of Bangsamoro, an autonomous region of the Philippines. It is currently led by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, an interim regional governing body. The inaugural session of the parliament took pl ...

for the 2025 election.

Personal life

Abas is the nephew of

peace negotiator

. He is from the province of

Maguindanao Maguindanao (; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Magindanaw''; Iranun: ''Perobinsia a Magindanao''; ) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 to 2022, its provincial capital ...

. He was also a lecturer for Notre Dame University for three years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abas, Sheriff 1979 births 21st-century Filipino lawyers Chairpersons of the Commission on Elections (Philippines) Benigno Aquino III administration personnel Duterte administration personnel Ateneo de Davao University alumni Filipino Muslims People from Maguindanao Living people