“Resignation in the middle of this COA audit can be construed as an admission of guilt, or an abandonment of duty.”
CAGAYAN DE ORO — A group pushing for Moro people’s rights criticized the order directing Mohagher Iqbal to resign as minister of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) in the Bangsamoro region following a questionable procurement processes.
Iqbal led the peace negotiations for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that resulted in the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the final peace pact signed between the Philippine government and the MILF in 2014 which ended years of armed struggle.
For the Moro-Christian Peoples’ Alliance (MCPA), the resignation order issued by Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua—appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—is not just a matter of anti-corruption and reorganization. The group viewed such action as the national government’s alleged “divide-and-rule” tactic to weaken Moro unity.
“[T]hey undermine the Bangsamoro people’s right to determine their own political direction free from Manila’s intervention and manipulation,” said Amirah Ali Lidasan, MCPA secretary-general.
Last year, Iqbal questioned the leadership change in the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the interim government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), after only 35 out of the 41 MILF-endorsed nominees were appointed by Marcos Jr.
This is contrary to the Bangsamoro Organic Law which created the BARMM. Article 2, Section 16 of the law states that the MILF shall lead the BTA.
Read:Bangsamoro Organic Law: MILF questions gov’t compliance
Macacua was part of the 41 nominees endorsed by the MILF but as a parliament member, not as interim chief minister.
Resignation declined
In his letter dated May 11 posted by the Manila Standard, Macacua directed Iqbal, who also serves as chairperson for the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, to resign as education minister by May 18, following the questionable procurement transactions amounting to P2.2 billion as audited by the Commission on Audit (COA).
Failure to do it, the interim chief minister said, would result in a deemed resignation.
The COA Special Audit Team flagged the MBHTE’s process and full payment of 73 joint ventures covering the procurement of goods amounting to P2.2 billion despite the absence of several required procurement documents.
The ministry also allegedly failed to impose liquidated damages amounting to P16 million against a supplier as a result of the 52-day delay of goods for the procurement of small armchairs for primary school learners. State auditors also flagged the 53 awarded contracts amounting to P1.9 billion despite defects in the procurement process.
In his reply, Iqbal said that compelling a resignation amid these allegations would not give him an opportunity to respond. “Resignation in the middle of this COA audit can be construed as an admission of guilt, or an abandonment of duty.”
MILF Chairman and former chief minister Ah Haj Murad Ebrahim, on the other hand, said in his May 17 letter addressed to Macacua that mandatory consultation with the MILF, as the leader of the BTA, must be held prior to issuing such a decision, advising the incumbent chief minister to put the order on hold.
Defend peace process
In March, the MILF expressed concern after the resignation of Cesar Yano as chair of the Philippine government’s Peace Implementing Panel, stressing that it could not proceed with engagements related to the peace process that require formal commitments and authoritative decisions.
“The MILF Peace Implementing Panel cannot negotiate and engage with a headless counterpart,” the group said.
In a report by MindaNews, Yano reportedly resigned because he felt he was not empowered to exercise his mandate as chair of the peace panel under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity of the Philippines (OPAPRU).
The MCPA called on the BTA, the MILF, and the political parties running in the first parliamentary election to unite and defend the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process, urging them to reject any political maneuvering by the national government.
Student leaders of the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City called for protection of the CAB that has been achieved through years of peace negotiations, as many MSU students have witnessed how an armed conflict disrupts education, affects people’s livelihood, and displaces communities.
“The call of thousands of Bangsamoro people […] reflects a collective demand to protect the gains of the peace process and ensure that the aspirations embodied in the CAB are fully realized,” the MSU Supreme Student Government and Office of the Student Regent said in a joint statement. (DAA)
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