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COTABATO CITY — In his characteristic sober and diplomatic stance, veteran Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal has called for cooler heads to prevail as he accepted his removal as education chief of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), although he maintained that the ouster was carried out “without due process.”
In a statement he issued on Friday while still on foreign travel, Iqbal acknowledged “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.
But Iqbal contested the manner of his removal. He said he was directed to turn over the ministry on the morning of May 19 — yet Macacua had already assumed the MBHTE portfolio the afternoon before, leaving no time for a proper handover as he has yet to return from travel.
