COTABATO CITY — The appointment by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. of a new chief minister for the Bangsamoro regional government did not violate the government’s peace compact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a senior state official said on Monday.

President Marcos on March 3 appointed chief of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces-MILF, Abdulrauf A. Macacua, as chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), replacing Ahod B. Ebrahim, who is chairman of the front’s central committee.

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., clarified to reporters in Cotabato City that there was nothing wrong with the appointment.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) has projects complementing the national government’s separate peace overtures with the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front.

Both fronts have separate peace accords reached via tedious and drawn-out negotiations supported by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of more than 50 Muslim nations, including petroleum-exporting states in the Middle East and North Africa.

As chief minister, the newly appointed Mr. Macacua shall function as figurehead of BARMM’s 80-seat BARMM regional parliament.

“The change of leadership in the BARMM adheres to both the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” Mr. Galvez said, referring to the charter of BARMM.

The chiefs of the 12 base commands of the MILF from across BARMM had signed a manifesto recognizing Mr. Macacua as the new BARMM chief minister.

They assured Mr. Galvez during a dialogue in Cotabato City on Sunday that they will support Mr. Macacua’s leadership of the region’s interim 80-seat law-making body.

They also promised Mr. Galvez that they will help Mr. Macacua push forward his sustainable development, peace and security programs for the Muslim, Christian and non-Moro indigenous communities in the autonomous region.

President Marcos had also appointed 77 members of the 80-seat BARMM parliament, according to officials of different agencies under the regional government. — John Felix M. Unson