Iqbal urges sobriety after losing BARMM education post
COTABATO CITY — Veteran Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal has called for sobriety and unity in the Bangsamoro region after accepting his removal as education chief of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), while maintaining that the decision was carried out “without due process.”
In a statement issued on May 22 while he was still on foreign travel, Iqbal said he accepted “with a clear conscience and a humble heart” the decision of BARMM interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua to dismiss him as head of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) effective May 18.
Macacua cited “lack of trust and confidence” in Iqbal’s leadership. Iqbal described the move as a “natural recourse” after he refused an earlier directive to resign by the same date.
However, Iqbal raised concerns over the manner of his removal, saying he was instructed to turn over the ministry on the morning of May 19, even as Macacua had already assumed the MBHTE portfolio the afternoon before, leaving no opportunity for a proper handover while he was still away.
Macacua, a former MILF commander appointed BARMM chief in March 2025, said dismissal was a matter of accountability and restoring public trust in the regional government.
“The Chief Minister, while possessing prerogatives inherent to the position, is not above the law,” Iqbal said.
He added: “All officials are bound by constitutional guarantees of due process.”
COA audit
The removal stemmed from a May 11 memorandum ordering Iqbal to resign following preliminary findings by the Commission on Audit (COA) flagging alleged irregularities in MBHTE procurement and disbursement transactions totaling around P2.2 billion.
The COA-flagged issues included delayed deliveries, defective bidder documents, and payments alleged to have violated government procurement rules.
In a May 16 reply, Iqbal refused to step down, saying the COA findings were preliminary and part of an ongoing audit, with no criminal case filed or formal charges lodged against him.
Iqbal, who served as MILF’s chief peace negotiator and principal signatory to the 2012 Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, has long been regarded as a key architect of the peace process.
