OPAPRU: Appointment of new BARMM officials legal

COTABATO CITY — The appointment by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of a new chief minister for the Bangsamoro regional government did not violate the government’s peace compact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a senior state official said on Monday, March 17.

On March 3, Marcos appointed Abdulrauf Macacua, the chief of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces-MILF, as chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, replacing Ahod Ebrahim, who is the chairman of the front’s central committee.

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Carlito Galvez Jr. clarified to reporters in Cotabato City, the capital of BARMM, that there was nothing wrong with the president’s appointment of a new Bangsamoro regional chief minister.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) has projects that complement the national government’s separate peace overtures with the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front. Both fronts have separate peace accords, reached through lengthy negotiations supported by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of more than 50 Muslim nations, including petroleum-exporting states in the Middle East and North Africa.

As chief minister, the newly-appointed Macacua will serve as the figurehead of BARMM’s 80-seat regional parliament.

Certain groups associated with Ebrahim are protesting his replacement by the President, calling the move a violation of the MILF’s peace compact with the national government, the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro.

They told reporters that there was no prior consultation with the local communities or the MILF regarding Macacua’s appointment as the new regional chief minister.

“The change of leadership in the BARMM adheres to both the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” Galvez said.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law, most known by the acronym BOL, is the Republic Act 11054, the charter of BARMM.

The chiefs of the 12 base commands of the MILF across BARMM signed a manifesto recognizing Macacua as the new BARMM chief minister.

During a dialogue with Galvez in Cotabato City on Sunday, March 16, they assured him of their support for Macacua’s leadership of the region’s interim 80-seat lawmaking body. 

They also promised Galvez that they would support Macacua in advancing his sustainable development, peace, and security programs for the Muslim, Christian, and non-Moro indigenous communities in the autonomous region.

Along with Macacua, Marcos appointed 77 members to the 80-seat BARMM parliament, many of whom are virtual newcomers, according to officials from various agencies under the regional government.

Among those reappointed to the parliament were accountant-lawyer Paisalin Tago and physician-ophthalmologist Kadil Sinolinding Jr., who also serve as the BARMM transportation and communications and health ministers, respectively.