ARMM ready for Bangsamoro transition – Mujiv Hataman

MALUSO, Basilan – Government infrastructure – from the regional government down to the municipal level in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) – is ready for the transition into the new Bangsamoro region, Gov. Mujiv Hataman said yesterday.

Hataman made the assurance when he attended the town’s “People’s Day” to encourage local governments to bring services to the people. He said he would also conduct a Cabinet meeting tomorrow to discuss preparations for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

 “Why I should prepare? First, I want them to know that I started from a problematic regional government. I don’t want them (BTA) to go through the kind of troubles that I went through when I also made a transition,” he said, referring to the time when he assumed as ARMM officer-in-charge in 2011.

The ARMM was created to institute reforms in the graft-ridden autonomous region that was halted following the arrest of Zaldy Ampatuan, his siblings and father after the massacre of 58 people, including 34 journalists, in Maguindanao province.

Hataman believes that Basilan, as a province, is ready for the transition, citing its government centers for the region, province and town levels.

 He is confident the incoming BTA government will have “something good to start” when he will hand over the ARMM to the Bangsamoro region. 

“I want them to know the details of what we learned. I believe we have set the standard, otherwise it will be shameful for others,” Hataman said, assuaging the apprehensions of people who remain doubtful on the future of ARMM once it becomes the Bangsamoro region.

 Hataman remains confident that the new Bangsamoro government would take care of the developments he instituted in the Muslim region.