OPAPP to issue apology to member missing in BTA list: Palace

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after Sevilla complained about her omission from the appointment papers despite her already having taken oath as BTA member on February 22. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will be issuing an apology to Tawi-Tawi professor Arlene Navales-Sevilla for failing to release her appointment paper as one of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) members, Malacañang said on Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after Sevilla complained about her omission from the appointment papers despite her already having taken oath as BTA member on February 22.

Citing Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Carlito Galvez Jr., Panelo said that failing to include Sevilla’s name on the BTA member list was a mistake.

“I gather from Gen. Galvez mukhang nagkaroon lang ng mistake. Nagkaroon ng mix-up (there seems to have been a mistake. I think there was a sort of mix-up),” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

“Merong initial na sinubmit na ganito, pagkatapos merong tinanggal sa listahan. Apparently, yung tinanggal, di natanggal dun sa final listing kaya nagkaroon ng mix-up (There was an initial list submitted and then there were some removed from the list. Apparently, those removed were not removed from the final list that’s why there was a mix-up),” he added.

Asked if Palace would issue a separate apology to Sevilla, Panelo noted that Galvez has already assumed responsibility for the error.

Panelo, meanwhile, denied that the appointments of BTA members were rushed.

“Matagal na yata yung mga listhan. Maraming nag-apply, matagal din ang vetting e. (That list was made a long time ago. So many applied, and the vetting process also took time),” Panelo said.

“I don’t think within a week lang ginawa ‘yan. Matagal na ‘yun (I don’t think it was finished within a week. It’s been made a long time ago),” he added.

On Feb. 27, Malacañang released the appointment papers of 76 members out of the 80-member BTA.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim was appointed interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The BTA will govern the newly-established BARMM until elections in 2022.