“Is the MILF-led BTA conducting itself pursuant to the decision of the MILF Central Committee?”

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MANILA, October 23, 2025 (SDN) — Member of the Parliament (MP) of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Mohagher M. Iqbal has added his sobering voice to the debate on whether the Bangsamoro region is still led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), or not.

Remember that the 2018 Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) implementing the  2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) has mandated that the MILF shall lead the interim government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

And it happened with MILF Chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim as interim chief minister and complemented by the Parliament with 41 MILF MPs and 39 government-endorsed MPs from 2019 to 2025. He was replaced by MILF Chief of Staff Abdulraof A. Macacua, then the governor of Maguindanao del Norte, after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. appointed him on March 2.

Questions on the MILF-led or not emerged after the President did not appoint/reappoint seven of the MILF nominees to the Parliament, a unique setup in the Philippines, being a Republican form of government.

To be MILF-led, the Parliament with 80 MPs as the BOL stipulates must have 41 MPs from the MILF side and 39 from the government side, which happened in the time of then President Rodrigo E. Duterte, “father” of the BARMM and architect of the BOL.

Duterte signed the BOL on July 26, 2018, and ratified by majority of Bangsamoro residents on February 2019.

By mentioning Duterte, who is now detained in The Hague to answer for his drug war, it is not to forget the memory and role of the late former President Benigno S. Aquino III who gambled his political life when he and the MILF chairman flew to Japan for a clandestine meeting that essentially revived the then dormant and gasping peace process between the Philippine Government (GPH) and the Moro revolutionary organization founded by Ustadhz Salamat Hashim in 1977.

In March this year, Marcos made his first appointments of BTA officials, as the BARMM transition runs its third extension, with the current appointed officials’ term to expire by October 30, a mere days away.

The new Parliament speaker, MP Mohammad S. Yacob who was chosen by his peers on October 21, replacing the late Pangalian Ali Balindong, has said that the MPs will continue to serve until they are replaced by the President.

Yacob, a highly respected member of the MILF Central Committee (CC), has maintained upon his election as speaker that the Bangsamoro is MILF-led.

The debates on this subject matter continues to simmer at least on social media, with some self-styled pundits saying otherwise. Cruel and insulting words are being thrown to those who espouse the contrary.

Iqbal, the MILF senior vice chairman, chief negotiator, and chairman of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel (PIP) has joined the fray, opening up his mind on the hot topic.

Here’s his opinion on the matter, which he ventured is a discussion, a controversy, or a confusion, in full and unedited. 

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On the matter of MILF-led BTA

“There is a current discussion — if not a controversy or confusion — on the matter of MILF leading the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA). In this short discourse, I will try to untangle the cobweb created by this confusion or controversy.

To begin, let us ask these several questions.

What is to lead? How is this realized and operationalized? Is it only on matter of the position of chief minister and majority of the members of the BTA and the ministers in the cabinet? Or it goes beyond positions and numbers. How about major decision-making?

To be able to put into proper understanding, appreciation, and perspective of the word “lead”, we referred to the Mirriam Webster’s Dictionary for more if not for an exact clarity. Here following are the various shades of meanings but we only chose three which we think are relevant to the current discourse:

“To guide on a way especially by going in advance.”

“To direct the operations, activity, or performance.”

“To bring to some conclusion or condition.”

From these, I venture to say that in order to lead the BTA it necessarily carries with it the need for or ability to control. Not only politically, legislatively, and administratively but also in the determination of policies, priorities, and programs aligned with or in pursuant to the MILF’s blueprint for moral governance, self-governance which is central to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), rendering of public services, and adherence to the laws passed by the Parliament.

By the way, the only exception is BAA77 which the MILF members of Parliament vehemently opposed as clearly gerrymandering in nature. But they were outvoted; some MILF members of the Parliament crossed to the other side, which is contrary to the principled party system. Anyway, this is already water under the bridge, so to speak.

How do we carry out this matter of “leading” and “control” (by the MILF) without disrupting or undermining the authority of the BTA Parliament as the paramount entity set by law for the BARMM? This is a very crucial question that require clear and dispatch answer.

To start, let it be stated that this process is internal to the MILF and is not carried out openly in deference to accepted or established legal or political norms that a non-legal entity cannot participate openly or directly in such sort of processes. Only those political actors provided for in the law have the mandate to participate directly or otherwise, in the political, administrative, or legal processes.

Moreover, for the MILF to lead and control to happen, all major decisions have to be formulated and decided by the Central Committee alone. The chief minister and the speaker are part of the decision-makers, because they are also members of the Central Committee. And, therefore, once a decision is made, it is obligatory to every member thereof to obey and follow. Failure to do so is a major breach not only of discipline but more seriously a disobedience to Allah. It is also a disavowal of the oath of loyalty to the cause of the Bangsamoro people relentlessly pushed forward by the MILF.

At this juncture, there is a need to clarify the above-stated assertion. The assertion does not mean depriving or questioning the President of its “general supervisory authority” over the BARMM especially during the transition where all members of the Parliament are appointed by him. We fully recognized that power and authority of the President, assuredly without even an iota of reservation. And we will always seek his wisdom and guidance on many issues.

The prescription is that the chief minister, the speaker, and all the ministers belonging to the MILF should conduct themselves with integrity, decorum, and sincerely. All carry the good name and integrity not only of the BARMM but also the MILF Central Committee. And the people are watching, and while they are not outspoken like others who are using the social media but they know what is real truth from outright lies.

The responsibility of the chief minister and the speaker is to navigate the decision in the Cabinet or Parliament, respectively, for adoption through open, deliberative, and transparent legal or administrative processes. Successful or failure to do so is well and fine; after all, the Parliament is supreme in all matters in the BARMM. Both the chief minister and the speaker are elected by members of the Parliament. The chief minister is head of the Bangsamoro government or the Cabinet and his/her main responsibility is to govern and also to implement the laws passed by the Parliament. In same vein, the speaker’s main responsibility is to legislate laws, some of which are priority agenda coming from the office of the chief minister. In this instance, they are separated. But in the whole they are fused in the Parliament because both are members of the Parliament before they are elected to their respective positions.

But a related question arises, who is superior? My answer is that neither is superior to the other. However, a reality check would disclose that the chief minister emerges as having more power and wider jurisdiction (but not necessarily powerful).

In summary, leading and control is not only because you come from the MILF and we have the number; that is nominal control or leading in name only. More importantly, it is the answer to this final question: Is the MILF-led BTA conducting itself pursuant to the decision of the MILF Central Committee? — EDD K. USMAN (©)

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UPDATE: As mentioned earlier in this article, Speaker Mohammad S. Yacob was inadvertently cited as “Abu Darda”, he is not.