DAVAO CITY – Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Ahod Balawag Ebrahim has declined his appointment to the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
EBRAHIM
“I have decided to respectfully decline said appointment,” Ebrahim said in a statement.
The former interim chief minister, who thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for his appointment to the BTA, congratulated his successor Abdulraof Macacua.
“Personally known to me as ‘Sammy Gambar,’ ICM Macacua brings a wealth of experience to this new role. He leaves his position as the governor of Maguindanao de Norte while still being chief of staff of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) of the MILF,” said Ebrahim, popularly known by his nom de guerre as Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.
The MILF chairman added that Macacua’s leadership and commitment to peace and development in the region are well-documented. “I wish him well in his endeavors.”
Ebrahim has been the BARMM’s interim chief minister since 2019.
Macacua formally assumed the BARMM leadership on March 20.
Ebrahim and Macacua have scheduled a formal turnover on March 27 at the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City in time for the 11th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
Ebrahim said that he will continue to lead the MILF and its political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, as they prepare for the first parliamentary elections in October.
Despite this development, several civil society organizations and religious leaders in the Bangsamoro region have reaffirmed their support to the MILF leadership under Ebrahim.
The MILF has expressed disappointment on the President’s move to appoint Macacua despite their appeal to retain Ebrahim.
The MILF has questioned the President’s appointment of Macacua and some members of the BTA as it undermines Section 2, Article XVI of the Bangsamoro Islamic Law that states that "the Moro Islamic Liberation Front shall lead the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, without prejudice to the participation of the Moro National Liberation Front in its membership."
BARMM Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal explained that the MILF recognizes the President’s authority to appoint BTA members but there are certain provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the Bangsamoro Law that were violated.
Iqbal was referring to Article XVI, Section 2 of Republic Act 11054, which provides that the MILF shall lead the BTA as the interim regional parliament.
The BTA is supposed to be MILF-led, adding that 41 members of the 80-member parliament should come from the organization, he emphasized.
However, six appointees from the MILF side were not in the list that they submitted to the President, according to Iqbal.
Macacua was included in the list of nominees that the MILF had submitted to the President but only as a member of parliament and not as interim chief minister, Iqbal said.