COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 20 March) — The government has been inconsistent in its leadership choices for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), causing confusion among the people, said Mohagher Iqbal, the region’s education minister. Iqbal made this statement during the formal installation of Abdulraof Macacua as the new interim chief minister (ICM) at the Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC) on Thursday. Macacua’s predecessor, Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, chairperson of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), did not attend the turnover. Ebrahim had held the position since BARMM’s creation in 2019. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Macacua on March 3, and he took his oath of office on March 12. Iqbal, also the chair of the MILF peace implementing panel, noted that while the MILF recognizes the President’s authority to appoint members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), certain provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) were violated. He emphasized that the BTA is supposed to be MILF-led, with 41 of its 80 members coming from the organization, but six MILF nominees were excluded from the list submitted to the President. Iqbal questioned the government’s sincerity, stating that the CAB, facilitated by Malaysia, was not an ordinary agreement. He clarified that Macacua, chief of staff of the MILF’s military arm, was nominated as a Member of Parliament, not as ICM. Macacua previously served as governor of Maguindanao del Norte. President Marcos appointed 77 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament in a reshuffle, leaving three seats vacant. The new parliament will serve until the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections in October, postponed from May 2025 by Republic Act No. 12123. Iqbal recalled that previous administrations adhered to the MILF’s nominees, unlike the current situation. Ebrahim has scheduled a formal turnover for March 27 to ensure a smooth transition. Macacua assured that there would be no changes in the leadership of BARMM ministries and offices. During a press conference, Macacua stated that he, Ebrahim, and Iqbal had agreed to reconcile any misunderstandings within the MILF. He noted that he was unaware of the final appointees but was informed by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. that some government appointees are MILF members, maintaining the BTA as MILF-led. Galvez mentioned that Ebrahim allegedly submitted a resignation letter on March 3 to focus on the MILF’s political campaign, though Ebrahim denied signing it during a recent MILF meeting. Galvez also revealed that Macacua was considered for the ICM position in 2022 but declined to allow Ebrahim to continue. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno, with a report from Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
