ARMM lawmakers elect new Speaker

COTABATO CITY — The 24-member Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) ousted the other night their Speaker and elected a dentist-lawmaker to take over the position.

Newly installed Speaker Ibrahim Ibay, at 34, becomes the youngest ever to become the ARMM’s third highest official.

Ibay, who hails from the first district of Maguindanao, replaced Ombra Datumanong, brother of Public Works and Highways Secretary Simeon Datumanong.

Ibay belongs to the Iranon community, which dominates the towns of Buldon, Barira, Matanog, Parang and Sultan Kudarat, all in the first district of Maguindanao.

The sudden change in the leadership of the ARMM’s Legislative Assembly came following several controversies, including its failure to enact a single law since Datumanong took over as Speaker after the elections in the expanded autonomous region last Nov. 26. — John Unson