COTABATO CITY—Mohammad Yacob has been elected on Tuesday as the new speaker of the Bangsamoro Parliament, succeeding the late Pangalian Balindong.
Balindong, a lawyer and veteran lawmaker succumbed to lingering illness last October 2. He was 83.
Yacob, an agriculturist and member of the Central Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been favored by members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament, over Deputy Speaker Nabil Tan and fellow Member of Parliament Jose Iribani Lorena.
Yacob had been a long associate of the late MILF Chairman Salamat Hashim here and abroad.
Among his peers, Yacob—who holds a doctorate degree in philosophy—is an acknowledged expert on policy research and policymaking.
He had served the Bangsamoro government as agriculture minister under then BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, and as deputy senior minister under incumbent Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua.
In both instances, Yacob served in concurrent capacity as member of the Bangsamoro Parliament.
