Iqbal: Choice of Chief Minister belongs to Parliament alone

COTABATO CITY – The selection of the Bangsamoro's next Chief Minister must rest solely with the duly elected Members of the Parliament, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Peace Implementing Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal said on Monday, Oct. 19, as he welcomed the national government's commitment not to intervene in the process.

"This assurance goes to the heart of what our people struggled for," said Iqbal, a Member of Parliament-elect.

He thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for what he called a "clear and unequivocal commitment" to respect the authority of the Bangsamoro Parliament to determine its own leadership under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

He also expressed appreciation to Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento, whose office issued a statement earlier in the day describing the selection of the regional leadership as "a matter strictly internal to the Bangsamoro Parliament."

Iqbal, who signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) as chair of the MILF peace panel in 2014, said the CAB and the BOL were never meant merely to create new offices but to give substance to the Bangsamoro people's right to self-determination, including the right to choose their leaders through their elected representatives.

"When the Members of the Parliament gather after taking their oath on October 30 to elect the Chief Minister, that choice must be theirs, and theirs alone," he said.

He said the President's commitment honors "not only the letter of the law, but the spirit of the peace agreement" that the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF signed in good faith.

In its statement, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) cited the President's Oct. 14 remarks, issued after the announcement of a 46-member majority coalition in the 80-seat Parliament, in which he said he respects the Parliament's authority to determine its leadership and looks forward to working with the government it constitutes.

Sarmiento also said that with the Political Track of the CAB reaching "full maturity," the government will place renewed focus on the Normalization Track, citing the decommissioning of the remaining MILF combatants, the dismantling of private armed groups, and a parallel peace-building and decommissioning agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Iqbal welcomed the renewed attention but stressed that normalization "is not decommissioning alone."

"It encompasses the socioeconomic transformation of our former combatants and their communities, transitional justice and reconciliation, and the security arrangements that will allow our people to live in peace and dignity," he said, adding that the MILF looks forward to working with the national government to see these commitments through.

Iqbal also called on his fellow Members of the Parliament, "regardless of party," to prove that "the Bangsamoro is capable of governing itself with wisdom, unity, and integrity."

According to OPAPRU, the President will reach out to all political parties in the region once the Parliament has chosen its leaders and constituted the Government of the Day. The 80 newly elected Members of the Parliament are set to take their oath on Oct. 30.