Civil Service Commission Abas worked at the now defunct
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) office of the
Civil Service Commission (CSC) as a lawyer and acting assistant regional director. He was with the CSC from June 2007 to April 2015.
Commission on Elections (standing, left) receives the result of the
2019 Bangsamoro plebiscite for the
Bangsamoro Organic Law, from
COMELEC Chairman Abas during a ceremony at the
Malacañang Palace. Abas was appointed as a commissioner for the
Commission on Elections (Comelec) in 2015 by president
Benigno Aquino III on April 28, 2015. His appointment was questioned due to his then unconfirmed relationship with
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiator
Mohagher Iqbal 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 proposed charter of a
Bangsamoro autonomous region is still being debated in the Congress causing concerns that the MILF may have undue influence in a future plebiscite. He became the first Comelec chairman who is from
Mindanao 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. ==Personal life==