New interim Bangsamoro parliament member assumes office

MP Albakil Jikiri (left) takes his oath before BTA Deputy Speaker Nabil Tan (center) as Majority Floor Leader Lanang Ali looks on. PHOTO FROM BTA Publication and Media Relations Division

COTABATO CITY—The newest member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) took his oath of office just before the regular session of the regional legislature began on Thursday (Oct. 14).

Lawyer Lanang Ali, majority floor leader of the interim parliament, said Albakil Jikiri filled the seat vacated by the late member of parliament (MP) Abdul Sahrin, who succumbed to a lingering illness last January 20.

Sahrin also used to be deputy chief minister.

Ali said President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Jikiri on September 23.

Jikiri, a former Sulu provincial board member, is the eldest son of the late Moro National Liberation Front chairman Yusop Jikiri.

The 80-member BTA is the interim government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.