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COTABATO CITY — Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim urged the public to exercise restraint in issuing commentaries on who should be the official acting governor of Maguindanao del Norte as this would create confusion.
Ebrahim said the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), a party to the case, had yet to receive official copies of the Supreme Court 2nd division’s ruling on the appointment of a provincial treasurer for Maguindanao del Norte, but various interpretations of the case were already circulating on social media.
In a statement dated August 13, Ebrahim said the Bangsamoro government reiterated its respect for democracy, justice, and the rule of law in the SC decision. BARMM also respects the independence of the judiciary and the finality of its decision, subject to the observance of the principles of due process, Ebrahim said.
“We believed … (that) responsible parties may refrain from resorting to acts that may misinterpret, pre-empt or undermine the substantial certainty of the High Court’s decision,” he said.
He added that BARMM would file a motion for reconsideration before the High Court once the regional government receives copies of the decision. He asked the public to exercise restraint in issuing public commentaries so as not to cause further confusion and possible unrest in areas directly affected by the issue.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM interior and local government minister, said the High Court’s decision dwelt only on the issue of the designation by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF-12) of a provincial treasurer for Maguindanao and did not mention the appointment of Maguindanao del Norte Governor Abduraof Macacua by President Marcos Jr. in April.
“The SC decision was not about the issue of President Marcos Jr.’s appointment of Maguindanao Norte Governor Macacua,” he said.
“Governor Macacua must not leave his post and he cannot be removed because his appointment was not nullified,” Sinarimbo told a radio interview here.
He said the ruling only concerned the appointment of a provincial treasurer in the new province and did not mention the presidential appointment of Macacua to the governorship.
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