Maguindanao del Norte OIC Governor to critics: ‘Go to Supreme Court’

By NASH B. MAULANA

COTABATO CITY The officer-in-charge governor of Maguindanao del Norte on Tuesday appealed to parties opposing his presidential appointment to just follow lawyer Salvador Panelo’s advice to “go to the Supreme Court,” instead of dragging Malacanang officials into malicious insinuations.

Asked by reporters on the legal aspect of his appointment by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Abdulraof Macacua, the OIC governor of Maguindanao del Norte, said: “We agree with lawyer Sal Panelo that the right forum and the final arbiter will be the Supreme Court.”

-

(Please see similar story on page A2)

Macacua said he didn’t care much if officials of Maguindanao del Sur would not recognize him as governor of Maguindanao del Norte, for as long as the residents and the elected officials accept him and his Presidential appointment as OIC governor.

He said he thanked the Chief Executive for his preEaster appointment (April 3). Macacua added that Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim was happy to receive the news, albeit on a sad note also that he would have to leave his post as senior minister of the Bansamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(BARMM).

Residents, officials

MILF jubilant

Officials and thousands of residents were visibly jubilant on Monday as they met Macacua and his family back in his home village in Gambar, Mother Kabuntalan, Maguindanao del Norte from where he got his nom de guerre in the 1970’s.

Macacua remains the chief of staff of the now transformed forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and is likely to retain a previous Presi-