BARMM purge looms as Macacua orders mass resignations

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The move follows 'serious and grave complaints' against offices of the BARMM regional government

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua on Monday, June 23, directed all of the region’s appointed ministers, deputy ministers, and heads of offices and agencies to tender their unqualified courtesy resignations.

The move was similar to what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. required of his Cabinet members after the midterm elections.

Macacua’s Memorandum Circular 007 mandated that all covered BARMM officials submit their courtesy resignations no later than Monday, June 30.

The order suggested a likely reshuffling ahead of the BARMM’s first parliamentary elections set for October 13.

To ensure uninterrupted public services, Macacua ordered that all officials concerned continue to report for work and perform “only their routinary functions not involving discretion” until a decision is made regarding their courtesy resignations. 

The order also included a stern warning about the consequence for non-compliance. It stated that any minister, deputy minister, or head of office or agency who “fails or refuses for any reason to tender his or her unqualified courtesy resignations on or before the deadline” will be “deemed resigned.”

The directive, which took effect immediately, signaled an urgent push for accountability and improved performance within the Bangsamoro bureaucracy. 

The move followed what Macacua’s directive described as “serious and grave complaints” against offices of the regional government. It said it had to be done to improve efficiency as the transition period of the BARMM government draws to a close.

At least two BARMM offices – the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education and the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government – are facing complaints over alleged irregular transactions amounting to around P2.5 billion. The allegations, however, were made anonymously, raising questions about credibility and motivations.

Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal denied allegations of irregularities in the ministry’s procurement process, calling the accusations “baseless.”

He responded to accusations circulated online about allegedly rigged contracts to favor relatives of high-ranking officials. One allegation was about the disbursement of P1.7 billion in a single day for instructional kits, allegedly without proper review. 

Iqbal, who is also the vice chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said the allegations were “grossly misleading and overlooked the layered controls within our financial systems.”

He said supplies purchased by the ministry underwent “strict internal and external controls, in full compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations” and guidelines issued by the Commission on Audit (COA).

At the BARMM Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, Minister Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba also denied allegations of anomalies related to the purchase of P680 million worth of rice for BARMM’s Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence stockpile.

Alba denied claims that one firm, JB Pharma and Trade Center, was a favored supplier, and that her husband, Salihwardi Alba, had ties with the winning bidder.

She also denied an allegation that the purchase was made even without an emergency and that the supply was not delivered in full. – Rappler.com