Hundreds of Police, Military Troops Secure BARMM's Inaugural Parliament Session
Key Takeaways
- •Hundreds of police and military personnel, supported by combat vehicles, were deployed across Cotabato City to secure the first session of the 80-member Bangsamoro parliament.
- •The newly seated lawmakers will elect a leader to head the regional government as the presidentially appointed interim leadership's term concludes on the same day.
- •Abdulraof A. Macacua, whose appointment as interim chief minister by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. expires Friday, won a parliamentary seat in the Sept. 14 regional elections, leaving the choice of his successor to the new chamber.
- •All five provincial governors in BARMM have expressed support for Macacua to remain regional chief minister.
- •Opposing groups assert that Moro Islamic Liberation Front central committee chairman Ahod B. Ebrahim should instead lead the parliament and the Bangsamoro government.
COTABATO CITY — Police and military units deployed hundreds of troops, backed by combat vehicles, across the city to ensure the safety of the inaugural session of the 80 newly elected members of the Bangsamoro parliament on Friday.
The lawmakers are expected to elect their figurehead, who will also oversee all of the ministries and support agencies in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Whoever wins the post will take charge of the regional government's bureaucracy as the term of the presidentially appointed interim leadership expires the same day.
The term of Abdulraof A. Macacua as an interim parliament member and as regional chief minister, based on an appointment by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., will end on Friday. Mr. Macacua was elected representative of a parliamentary seat covering neighboring barangays — villages — in Cotabato City and in Maguindanao del Norte province during BARMM's Sept. 14 regional elections, placing the choice of his successor in the hands of the newly seated chamber.
Some groups are not in favor of the seemingly possible retention of Mr. Macacua, who serves as president of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party, as BARMM's chief minister, asserting that Ahod B. Ebrahim, chairman of the central committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, should instead be at the helm of the parliament and the Bangsamoro government — a split that frames Friday's leadership vote.
All five governors in BARMM have expressed support for Mr. Macacua to retain his seat as regional chief minister: Tucao O. Mastura of Maguindanao del Norte, Ali O. Midtimbang of Maguindanao del Sur, Mamintal A. Adiong, Jr. of Lanao del Sur, Mujiv S. Hataman of Basilan, and Yshmael I. Sali of Tawi-Tawi.
— John Felix M. Unson, BusinessWorld
Source: BusinessWorld
