[Handout/Robinson Niñal/Presidential Photo/PCOO]
The Catholic Church’s highest official in the southern Philippines on Friday endorsed a term extension for ex-separatist leader Murad Ebrahim as head of an autonomous Muslim region.
Murad, who leads the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA), told BenarNews last month that he was lobbying to have his term extended beyond its scheduled expiry in 2022. He said he needed more time to pursue reforms hampered by the coronavirus pandemic and threats from militants linked to Islamic State.
“Elections in 2022 would simply erode whatever fragile gains the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority shall have obtained within the transition period,” Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, said in a statement.