Sara Duterte denies having a hand in the selection of BARMM officials

President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte, on Sunday denied that she had anything to do with the selection of officials for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as this was not within her purview as Davao City's mayor.

"I categorically deny this and wish to reiterate that my authority is only within the area of Davao City as mandated by the Local Government Code," Mayor Duterte said in a Sunday evening statement.

She revealed that several people had been coming to her office in hopes of acquiring an endorsement due to rumors that she had influence in the appointment of BARMM officials.

"The denial is true for the appointments to all other national government positions. Thank you," said Duterte.

Just last week, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it was mapping out ways to provide technical assistance to the BARMM for its transition.

This comes as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a landmark pact with the government in 2014 to end a separatist insurgency in which 150,000 people were killed.

The agreement led to the creation of the Bangsamoro, which was overwhelmingly approved in a January vote. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News