Ismael Abubakar Jr.

Abubakar was selected to serve as the Vice Governor of the Tawi-Tawi province in 1988, despite being a member of the opposition party. In 1990, he was elected to a seat in the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly, and became that body's first speaker.[2] In May 2003 Abubakar was elected as speaker of the Regional Legislative Assembly, but was prevented by a court order from exercising the functions of that office because Ibrahim Ibay also claimed that position, and the two had effectively been acting as speaker at the same time.[3] In August 2003 he was again elected speaker of the Regional Legislative Assembly, making him its third speaker in 14 months.[4] Abubakar also served as the first president of the Tawi-Tawo Chamber of Commerce Inc. In 2023, a posthumous award was given to Abubakar for his contributions to the chamber. The award was accepted by his family. In 2009, he was included in The 500 Most Influential Muslims list. His description on the list stated, “Abubakar is the former speaker of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's regional legislative assembly. He is now concentrating on business and interfaith dialogue, convening the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy. He is from the predominantly Muslim Sama tribe, which garners him a significant amount of respect in dealing with the Muslim militants.”[5]