Bangsamoro region gets first female regional prosecutor

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Local communities were elated with the appointment of lawyer Rohairah Ampuan Lao as the first ever female regional prosecutor for five Muslim provinces grouped as an autonomous region.

Never has the national government designated a woman as regional prosecutor for predominantly Muslim provinces in the south since the dawn of Moro autonomy in the 1970s.

Lao’s appointment as regional state prosecutor (RSP) for the Bangsamoro region – signed by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra – took effect last July 12.

Previously the provincial prosecutor for Maguindanao since February 2016, Lao took over from retired RSP Ramy Guiling.

She took her oath on July 23 as RSP for the 28-month-old Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) that replaced the 29-year Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in February 2019.

Among the first to express appreciation for Lao’s appointment was the Women’s Organization of Rajah Mamalu Descendants, representing the women in the non-Moro indigenous Teduray community in central Mindanao.

“That, for us, is an inspiration,” the group said in a statement yesterday.

Peace activists in central Mindanao lauded, via Facebook posts, the Department of Justice (DOJ) for installing Lao as RSP for BARMM following Guiling’s retirement from government service.

Lao became popular as Maguindanao’s provincial prosecutor for having secured convictions for crimes against women and children, high-profile drug trafficking, and other criminal cases.

BARMM Local Government’s Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesperson for the regional government, said they are ready to extend allowable support to the office of the new RSP.

Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. and Mayor Majul Gandamra of Marawi City, where Lao is to hold office, also separately assured her of their support.