Lanao del Sur lawyer is first woman appointed Bangsamoro regional state prosecutor

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — lawyer Rohairah Ampuan Lao has been appointed the first female regional prosecutor for the five-province Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, a development welcomed by the local community.

Never has the national government designated a woman as regional prosecutor for the predominantly Muslim provinces in the south since the dawn of the campaign for Moro autonomy in the 1970s.
 
The appointment of Lao, who hails from Lanao del Sur, as regional state prosecutor, or RSP, for the Bangsamoro region took effect on July 12.

Lao, provincial prosecutor for Maguindanao since February 2016, took over from the now retired RSP Ramy Guiling, who is also from Lanao del Sur. She took her oath of office on July 23.

Never has a woman become an RSP for Moro provinces since the inception by President Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s of Moro autonomy, first under the Office of the Regional Commissioner and, subsequently, the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook for Regions 9 and 12.

Among the first to express appreciation of Lao’s appointment as RSP for BARMM 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 Sunday.

Women in the Regional Advisory Council of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Multi-Sector Advisory Board of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division Army told reporters Sunday they are grateful to the Department of Justice for Lao's appointment.

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

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

Sinarimbo, also a lawyer, said while functions and powers of the DOJ are not devolved to BARMM, it is incumbent upon them to support the operation of its offices in the core territory of the Bangsamoro region.

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 support.