By Ali Macabalang
COTABATO CITY – Interim Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, more known for decades as Hadji Murad, has carried out a minor revamp in his cabinet in what his lieutenants described as a springboard towards the formation of full-blown regional autonomous governance next year.
(Photo from Facebook page of Bangsamoro interim Chief Minister Ahod “Hadji Murad” Ebrahim and Minister Abdulraof “Sammy Almansoor” Macacua)
In a cabinet meeting here Monday, the Bangsamoro Information Bureau said, Ebrahim appointed parliament member Abdulraof Macacua as his executive secretary on concurrent capacity as Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE).
Macacua, current chief of staff of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, reportedly replaced former Executive Secretary Esmael Omar Pasigan, who has been on “indefinite leave” since last August.
The Bureau of Public Information said Chief Minister Ebrahim also transferred Finance Minister Eduard Guerra to the Ministry of Public Works and Highways. Guerra is a licensed architect, the BPI said.
Ebrahim has placed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Management (MBFBM) under his direct supervision, added the BPI in a statement.
The statement said Minister Guerra has endorsed the appointment of lawyer Ubaida Pacasem, a parliament member, as head of the Regional Budget and Management Office (RBMO).
In a separate statement, Minister Macacua explained that his appointment as Executive Secretary underwent “proper consultation.”
“I assume (as executive secretary) that by virtue of (the chief minister’s) mandate. That is the first step. The second step is that every civil servant should respect since the BARMM is still under the ambit of national civil service code... There is an issue of QS (qualification standard). The person appointed to this position must be at least bachelor degree which I have not,” Macacacua said.
Macacua, known for decades as Almansoor or Sammy Gambal, posted his statement on Facebook “to inform the public that there is still remaining process to get through.”
“But until the issue of QS is resolved I would act as ES by mandate entrusted to me by the Chief Minister. We are only a good soldier (obliged to follow order),” he said, adding that even an “honest opinion from the legal community can help.”