By Nash B. Maulana

COTABATO CITY—The officer-in-charge governor of Maguindanao del Norte on Tuesday appealed to parties opposing his presidential appointment to just follow lawyer Salvador Panelo’s advice to “go to the Supreme Court,” instead of dragging Malacanang officials into malicious insinuations.

Asked by reporters on the legal aspect of his appointment by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Abdulraof Macacua, the OIC governor of Maguindanao del Norte, said:  “We agree with lawyer Sal Panelo that the right forum and the final arbiter will be the Supreme Court.”

Macacua said he didn’t care much if officials of Maguindanao del Sur would not recognize him as governor of Maguindanao del Norte, for as long as the residents and the elected officials accept him and his Presidential appointment as OIC governor.

He said he thanked the Chief Executive for his pre-Easter appointment (April 3). Macacua added that Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim was happy to receive the news, albeit on a sad note also that he would have to leave his post as senior minister of the Bansamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Residents, officials MILF jubilant

Officials and thousands of residents were visibly jubilant on Monday as they met Macacua and his family back in his home village in Gambar, Mother Kabuntalan, Maguindanao del Norte—from where he got his nom de guerre in the 1970’s.

Macacua remains the chief of staff of the now transformed forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and is likely to retain a previous Presidential appointment—as member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament.

He said the huge assembly in Gambar of residents of Maguindanao Norte, as well as officials and MILF members undergoing the process of normalization, manifested a consensus of acceptance of his appointment, through the organization’s process of consultative leadership.  

SC, final arbiter

But he said: “If the Supreme Court says that I am not supposed to be here, I will voluntarily step down, No problem. But it’s not good to malign; it’s not good to belittle the President,” Macacua said.

“Let us not belittle the President. Because as the head of state, he is currently attending to bigger problems including crucial matters of foreign relations involving China and the U.S., Macacua said, apparently referring to current issues surrounding the EDCA or Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

Macacua said if he had to reach out on bended knees for unity, he will do that without hesitation to politicians, including members of the Provincial Board, voted to office in the undivided Maguindanao in May 2022.

Peace process, not ‘payback’

He also rejected suggestions that his appointment was a “payback to the Moro Muslims” for records of martial law atrocities often associated with President’s namesake father’s second term as the Philippine President in the 1970’s.

Instead, Macacua attributed his presidential appointment to a “peace process at work,” saying “we have followed the political track record of the Marcoses, showing they are not vindictive.”

Macacua also said he could not agree with a Manila lawyer’s contention that the Chief Executive was only giving the MILF “the benefit of the doubt,” because President knew that “the Mangudadatus and the Sinsuats will win anyway in the May 2025 elections.”

He said even the Commission on Elections (Comelec) which has the power to say who the winning candidates are, cannot foretell who will win in polls.

Priority

He said his office team will first evaluate the status of the employees; fill in vacant positions in accordance with Civil Service Rules, assuring further that CS laws will be strictly followed in the process of selection and appointments. Macacua said his authority to appoint and to sign on funds disbursement documents emanates from the power of appointment of the highest official, “the President, who was voted to office by 31 million Filipinos and is now everyone’s President.”