Murad graces Macacua’s annual Maguindanao del Norte address amid replacement noise

COTABATO, Philippines – Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim and Maguindanao del Norte Governor Abdulraof Macacua shook hands, reaffirming their political alliance as Macacua reported on the provincial government’s achievements since he became governor in 2023, in Cotabato City on Thursday, July 4.

Ebrahim attended Macacua’s first annual State-of-the-Province Address amid a controversy arising from a June 24 meeting in Manila where South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. allegedly told Lanao del Sur’s town mayors that Macacua was being groomed for the position of BARMM chief minister, and that they should support efforts to keep the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) the ruling party in the region in the 2025 elections.

Tamayo is the president of the administration Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, while the UBJP is the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) headed by Ebrahim. Macacua, who served as BARMM senior minister under Ebrahim before he was appointed officer-in-charge of Maguindanao del Norte in 2023, once headed the MILF’s combatants.

The BARMM chief minister was calm and smiling during the Macacua-hosted event in Cotabato City as he commended and congratulated the governor for his work in Maguindanao del Norte during his one-year-old administration.

He told reporters of the alleged plan to replace him, “We all know these are all political stunts. It will all boil down still to what will be better and what will be agreed with the President.”

Ebrahim added, “There is nothing permanent in this world. Definitely, I will talk to the President about this matter, and let’s see what the actual situation will be.”

Joining Murad, Macacua, and other BARMM and Maguindanao del Norte officials were Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU).

The controversy began when Maguindanao del Sur Governor Mariam Mangudadatu claimed that a group of Lanao del Sur mayors informed her that Tamayo allegedly warned during a Manila meeting that they would face strict audits unless they supported the UBJP, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supposedly wanted the MILF to stay in power in the BARMM.

Tamayo confirmed that he met with the town mayors but said he was misinterpreted. 

The South Cotabato governor said he also took offense at a leaked audio recording which spread on social media, supposedly of that meeting, saying it was a private meeting. 

He declined to comment about Malacañang’s alleged plan to replace Ebrahim with Macacua. – Rappler.com