MILF chair Murad is interim BARMM chief minister

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte swore in Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim on Friday as the interim Chief Minister of the newly formed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Murad will lead the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which will govern the five-province Bangsamoro region until the election of the regular members of its Parliament in 2022.

The BARMM was created by virtue of the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which was a product of the government’s negotiations with the MILF.

READ: Yes votes have it: Law creating Bangsamoro region ratified

The two-round plebiscite showed that the new region will be composed of the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi as well as Marawi City, Lamitan City, Cotabato City and 63 villages in North Cotabato.

The incumbent elected officials of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which the BARMM replaced, will also be part of the BTA until June 30, 2019, or until their term ends.

In his speech, Duterte told newly sworn-in BTA members that the creation of the BARMM is not just a fulfillment of a campaign promise but also a “realization of our collective desire.”

“It will be the realization of all our dreams and end long decades of armed struggle that hindered the growth of the region and I also consider my home,” Duterte said.

“I guarantee that you and this administration will use all the resources within its disposal to ensure better governance and inclusive political empowerment in this new Bangsamoro region,” he added. /ee