COTABATO CITY — Residents of the province hailed the presidential
appointment of Abdulraof Macacua as governor of Maguindanao del Norte.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Macacua on Wednesday as the
first governor of the new province created by an act of Congress,
Republic 11550, which was ratified in an overwhelming affirmative vote
in the plebiscite held on September 17, 2022.
Malacanang summoned Macacua and Bangsamoro Local Governments Minister
Naguib Sinarimbo to a simple oath before the President at 9:00 a.m. on
Wednesday.
“This (Macacua’s appointment) settles a long-stalled issue on the
leadership of the new province to put in place and legitimize its
administrative organization and operations,” said Sinarimbo, interior
and local governments head in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Mr. Marcos had earlier referred the issue to his legal counsel, the
99-year-old Juan Ponce Enrile, who had earlier said that the President
would exercise his prerogative of the power of appointments.
Macacua used to be the chief of staff of the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front and had been the Senior Minister of BARMM until his appointment
as governor of the new province.