COTABATO CITY — Bangsamoro local officials are throwing their support behind Abdulraof A. Macacua to remain chief minister as the newly elected 80-member Bangsamoro Parliament prepares to convene for its first session on October 30.
Macacua, president of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), is currently serving as chief minister and parliament member following his appointment by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in March. He was elected on September 14 as representative of a parliamentary district covering parts of Cotabato City and several barangays in Maguindanao del Norte.
BFP regional spokesperson Naguib G. Sinarimbo, a lawyer and appointed parliament member who was also elected in the September 14 polls, said the party secured 16 seats through bloc representation and another 16 through its candidates in parliamentary districts.
That gives the BFP a total of 32 elected representatives, according to Sinarimbo. “We shall start working as duly-elected parliament members, vested with proper electoral mandate, by the end of October,” he told reporters Thursday.
Governors back Macacua
The push to keep Macacua at the helm has already drawn support from influential local officials across the autonomous region.
Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal A. Adiong Jr. said he was confident Macacua would be nominated by the newly elected lawmakers. “We are confident he will be nominated as chief minister of the parliament by its duly-elected members,” Adiong said.
Adiong’s regional party, Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo, also secured six of the nine parliamentary district seats in Lanao del Sur, according to the governor.
Basilan Vice-Gov. Hadjiman H. Salliman likewise said he and several mayors in his constituency expect Macacua to continue as chief minister. Among those backing him is Lamitan City Mayor Roderick H. Furigay, according to Salliman.
Macacua needs at least 41 votes in the 80-member parliament to secure the majority needed for his nomination as chief minister.
The chief minister heads the regional executive government and oversees the operations of BARMM ministries and support agencies.
From appointed leader to elected chief minister?
Macacua’s potential return to the post would mark an important transition for the BARMM government. He is currently functioning as chief minister by virtue of his March appointment by Marcos. Following the September 14 elections, however, the autonomous region is moving toward a parliament whose members have received their mandates through the electoral process.
The newly elected lawmakers are expected to assume their parliamentary functions by the end of October, according to Sinarimbo.
Macacua’s own election gives him a seat in the chamber that will determine who leads the regional government. For now, his supporters appear confident that the transition will not mean a change at the top.
The decisive test will come when the new parliament convenes and its 80 members choose the chief minister.
Editor’s Note: The article above attributes the claims about BFP seat totals and Macacua’s expected nomination to party officials and local executives; those claims are not independently verified in the supplied material.
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