 Sarmento is a member of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction ("Congresso Nacional da Reconstrução Timorense") (CNRT).From 1976 to 1982 Sarmento attended primary school, then junior high school for two years, and from 1986 to 1988 secondary school.Sarmento studied from 1989 at the Faculty of Medicine of Udayana University in Bali, Indonesia, and graduated in 1996.