Macacua admits corruption is rampant in BARMM
MATANOG, Maguindanao Del Norte (MindaNews / 12 September) – Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua on Thursday publicly admitted that corruption is rampant in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), saying he has uncovered fraudulent procurement and bribery, among others.
Macacua made the statement in Barangay Bayanga Norte where he attended the 50th anniversary of Matanog town as guest speaker.
This came amid apparent cracks within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. replaced the front’s chair, Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, with Macacua as chief minister of BARMM in March this year.
“We cannot deny it (corruption),” Macacua said. “If we look the other way, then we ourselves become the problem.”
“Upon my assumption, I discovered numerous irregularities, particularly in the procurement process,” he said, although he did not elaborate on his allegations.
“In one case I found out, someone won the bid but was told to accept defeat because they had already placed a person there,” he said.
He added there was an instance where a kilogram of rice was priced 81 pesos in a bidding. He said he canceled that transaction even after the winning bidder offered to lower the price to 50 pesos.
“Just imagine, our President is having a hard time lowering the price of rice to 20 pesos,” he said, alluding to Marcos’ campaign promise to pull down the price of the staple item.
Macacua also claimed he was offered by a government official P27 million a month, “which increased to 40 million pesos the following month just to go with the flow of corruption,” although he did not name names. “I did not work hard for that money. Why is this being given to me? That’s another form of corruption.”
He also cited an instance where a job applicant offered P5 million to get appointed to a specific position. He said he ordered the money to be returned and denied the applicant’s request.
“Corruption is pulling us down. We have to talk about this publicly, or else we are part of the problem,” he said.
“How do we handle this? This is a difficult situation,” he quoted himself as telling Maguindanao del Norte Governor Tucao Mastura, who attended the event.
Baintan Ampatuan, Deputy BARMM Speaker said the parliament, through its finance committee that has oversight functions over how the ministries use their budget, will ensure that the region’s block grants are properly spent in response to Macacua’s allegations.
The Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) has been accused of making anomalous disbursements amounting to P2.2 billion that bypassed standard financial procedures set by the Commission on Audit, which has started a special audit in response to the complaints.
MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal has denied the allegations and welcomed the investigation as a chance to clear his name.
The Bangsamoro Parliament’s blue ribbon committee is also investigating the allegations. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera/MindaNews)
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