Macacua asks Iqbal to resign over ₱2.2-B questionable transactions; Iqbal declines
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 17 May 2026) — Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua has asked Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal to tender his irrevocable resignation by 5 p.m. on Monday, May 18, following the report from the special audit by the Commission on Audit (COA) on the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) that exposed over ₱2.2 billion in questionable procurement transactions.
“We respectfully request you to either resign immediately or you shall be deemed resigned if we do not receive your irrevocable resignation at the closing office hour of Monday, May 18, 2026,” Macacua said in a letter dated May 11, before closing with this note: “We thank you for your services.”
Iqbal in his response on May 16, said he received the May 11 letter a day earlier. But for Iqbal, resignation is not an option.
“I respectfully decline to resign at this time, and I wish to place on record that I do not consent to any interpretation of my silence or of any future action as constituting a constructive or deemed resignation,” he said.
“Resignation in the middle of this COA audit can be construed as an admission of guilt, or an abandonment of duty. My position is that the audit process must be allowed to conclude, and that my continued service during this period reflects my commitment to accountability; not an avoidance of it. Should you determine that I must vacate this position, I respectfully ask that such a decision be made openly, directly, and in full accordance with the law and established procedures. I remain willing to engage in any process that is lawful and fair,” Iqbal said.
Macacua noted the Special Audit Team’s summary of its findings in three points:
First, on the uncollected fines for delayed deliveries, the MBHTE allegedly failed to impose Liquidated Damages amounting to ₱16,068,000.00 against a supplier that suffered a 520-day delay in delivering primary school armchairs under a ₱30.9-million contract, an inaction that directly violates the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9184.
Second, on the alleged anomalous awarding of billion-peso contracts, a staggering 53 contracts worth ₱1,952,923,307.40 were approved despite possessing material defects that legally should have disqualified the bidders. These violations included accepting bids that failed to clearly define the applying Joint Ventures, which resulted in payments being diverted to a single partner rather than the entity, alongside the repeated failure of winning bidders to post their Required Performance Securities prior to contract signing.
Third, on the alleged missing crucial documents, auditors discovered that 73 disbursement vouchers for equipment procurement, covering a total of ₱2.24 billion, were fully processed and paid out based solely on the agency’s internal certifications despite lacking mandatory documentary requirements mandated under Presidential Decree No. 1445.
Iqbal said that in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the , they were taught that brothers are owed honesty, dignity, and a fair hearing even when the stakes are high and the suspicion is grave.
“You know the difference between the governance we inherited and the governance we are trying to build in the Bangsamoro. I await your guidance on how you wish to proceed. Should you determine that the proper course is to exercise your authority to relieve me of office, I will respect that decision and cooperate with the transition accordingly,” he said, adding that all he asks for is “that any such decision be made through proper authority, and not through a deemed resignation that I have not freely given.”
“I remain Minister of Basic, Higher and Technical Education. I will execute my duties faithfully until you remove me by proper authority. I will cooperate fully with any investigation. I will respond to any charges. And I will not go quietly into the night because I have the moral obligation to clear my name. As public servants and brothers in the struggle, the only lasting legacy that we could leave for our children and descendants is a good name. I will protect it with what remains of my strength and earthly life,” Iqbal added.
The BARMM was established in 2019 with “moral governance” as the centerpiece of the Bangsamoro leadership, then under Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, whose no de guerre is Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. Ebrahim was replaced by Macacua in March 2019 but has remained as the MILF chair since founding chair Salamat Hashim died in 2003. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera /MindaNews)
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