Ex-North Cotabato governor Piñol calls out Malacañang for BARMM leadership change

Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Abdulraof Macacua is sworn in as BARMM Interim Chief Minister by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañan Palace on 12 March 2025. Photo from the Facebook page of Governor Abdulraof A. Macacua

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 18 March) – Former North Cotabato governor Emmanuel Piñol on Tuesday called out Malacañang for “shaking up” the political situation in the Bangsamoro region by changing the regional government’s leadership, a development that also dismayed  the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which claimed that the move allegedly lacked consultation.

“Last night, I received confirmation from sources inside the BARMM that an uneasy atmosphere prevails following the changes in the autonomous region’s political set up initiated by Malacañang,” said Piñol, former agriculture secretary and chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority under the Duterte administration.

He was referring to the replacement of MILF chairperson Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim by Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Abdulraof Macacua as Interim Chief Minister of the BARMM.

In a statement issued Sunday by the MILF Central Committee following a consultative assembly in the MILF’s Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte, the MILF also castigated the appointment of Macacua.

The MILF Central Committee, the front’s highest policy-making organ, said that “it is for the best interest of all that the leadership of the MILF is consulted and its decision be respected on matters of paramount importance to the Bangsamoro.”

It noted that the national government “unilaterally decided” the appointment of the new Interim Chief Minister.

Macacua took his oath of office at Malacañan Palace last Wednesday, March 12, before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who appointed him to the post on March 3. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism broke the news of Macacua’s appointment last March 9.

Piñol urged the Marcos administration to be more circumspect in dealing with the BARMM, stressing it should “bear in mind that it (Bangsamoro region) is no longer Imperial Manila’s Vassal State.”

“Let us respect the Bangsamoro leadership and let them run their own show with unqualified support so that they will realize their aspirations for their own people,” he said.

Piñol expressed fears that the BARMM leadership shake up could again lead to security instability in the Bangsamoro region, adding that any upheaval will affect North Cotabato due to its proximity to the BARMM.

“Tahimik na ang mga buhay namin. Ayaw na namin ng giyera at gulo. (Our lives are already peaceful. We don’t another war.) Let peace reign in our land by respecting the autonomy of the Bangsamoro region,” he said.

Pinol is running for North Cotabato governor in the May 2025 elections, challenging reelectionist Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza.

In a statement on Monday, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr, of the Office of Presidential Adviser on Peace Reconciliation and Unity, said the leadership change in the BARMM “adheres to both the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the Bangsamoro Organic Law.”

He claimed that Ebrahim sent Marcos a resignation letter on March 3, indicating that he wanted to focus on the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections on October 13.

Galvez said that the “Bangsamoro peace process is at a greater height as it readies its first election seven months from now.”

The first parliamentary election will mark a fulfillment of the implementation of the political track of the Bangsamoro peace agreement, whereby its people will now elect its new leaders, he added.

Galvez reaffirmed that “both the Marcos administration and the MILF remain committed to the CAB,” which the government and the MILF signed in 2014 after 17 years of peace negotiations.

“Let us continue to stand united as one Bangsamoro, upholding the spirit of peace, and progress. Through unity, we strengthen our foundation for a brighter future—one where harmony, development, and the aspirations of our people are realized. Together, with faith, resilience, and determination, we will build a peaceful and prosperous Bangsamoro for generations to come under the banner of Bagong Pilipinas,” Galvez said.

Bagong Pilipinas means New Philippines, the Marcos administration’s slogan. (Bong S. Sarmiento with a report from Richel V. Umel / MindaNews)