 |
| OIC-Governor Mujiv Hataman /Photo by UNTV |
Electoral reform advocates and supporters of other candidates in
ARMM aired the challenge yesterday as stakeholders started gearing up for the
March 30 start of official campaign for local positions in the May 13, 2013
national, regional and local polls.
“For Hataman to meaningfully carry out his touted mission for
administrative and electoral reforms in ARMM, he has no better option than
resigning,” said a supporter of Nur Misuari, founding chair of the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) now vying for the ARMM governorship he held
previously.
Corroborating the call, local poll watchers said there can be “no
fair playing field” in the ARMM election unless Hataman steps down and face his
competitors squarely.
Hataman is running for ARMM governor under the ruling Liberal
Party (LP) against five contenders that include Misuari, former Agrarian Reform
regional director Yusoph Mama, ex-Sultan Kudarat governor and Congressman Pax
Mangudadatu. The two other aspirants are female unknown in the political arena.
Local political pundits described the four-corned contest as
“evenly reflective” of tribal representations. Hataman belongs to the Yakan
tribe of Basilan, Misuari of the Tausog and Sama tribes in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi,
Mama of the Maranao tribe of Lanao, and Mangudadatu of the Maguindanaon tribe.
But rival camps’ supporters claimed that Hataman wields “profuse
advantage” because he has “access” to the regional government resources and the
long-structured political machinery in ARMM, whose five provincial governors
are also LP members, they said.
They cited, for instance, the ARMM’s convergent program on health,
education, livelihood, peace and security (HELPS) services, which Hataman has
been conducting region-wide since February.
In July, 2012, the President said his administration has
“allocated P13.4 billion for the ARMM Investment Plan in 2013, with
interventions in health, education, and infrastructure, among others.”
Foreign funds have also been infused to ARMM. The Australian
government has provided P3.9-billion education grant for Hataman’s
administration, while Japan allocated last week P36-million funds for various
projects in support of its existing multi-billion interventions in the region,
published reports said.
Critics have debunked Hatama’s recent pronouncement that he would
use “not even a single cent” from government funds, saying that various
published photos and news alone showed him ”wearing yellow shirt” and immersing
with villagers alongside local officials bearing the ruling party’s political
signs.
The President named Hataman as OIC in ARMM in 2011 with a
condition that he would not seek election to be able to “focus on reform initiatives”
in the region the former tagged as a “failed experiment.”
Legal minds in the Commission on Elections have expressed surprise
that nobody is officially protesting Hataman’s continued stay in office after
filing his candidacy.
“Anybody can lodge a protest, which may become an acid test in the
current administration’s avowed electoral reforms campaign,” said a Comelec
lawyer, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak for the
Commission.
The lawyer said that under the Omnibus Election Code, all
appointed officials are deemed resigned upon filing certificates of candidacy.
Hataman is also criticized for alleged ineptness in the Sabah
standoff that erupted violently and left 62 people and displaced thousands of
Filipinos in the rich Malaysian state.
In his recent pronouncement, however, he accused his detractors of
“misusing” the Sabah issue to pin him down and create further confusion.
In separate
press briefings, Hataman said he would continue holding office on holdover
capacity unless the President orders him to step down.
He claimed that he is in a unique status where his appointment to
an elective position is “not covered” by the Omnibus Election Code.
Hataman
urged the public to be prudent in issuing statements that may just aggravate
the plight of the ARMM citizenry, which includes some of the displaced by the
Sabah crisis. (With report from Ali G. Macabalang)
0 comments:
Post a Comment