Hataman: ARMM no longer 'cheating, corruption capital'

DAVAO CIT, Philippines  – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is no longer the country’s “cheating and corruption capital,” thanks to reforms and good governance carried out in the past few months.

ARMM officer-in-charge Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who has been in office for just six months, said necessary reforms have been instituted to effectively run the regional government and its constituent local governments.

The ARMM covers the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

For one, Hataman said they were able to purge the regional Department of Education of “ghost” schools, teachers, and even students, thus saving funds for the education sector.

He said each department in the ARMM regional office and even the local governments are now guided by three things – good governance, peace and security, and socio-economic development.

The ARMM is also guided by programs on health, education, livelihood, and peace and synergy in its development initiatives.

President Aquino cited Hataman’s bold efforts to institute reforms in the ARMM, saying the government would extend all necessary assistance to the region, including the recently approved P8.95-billion transition investment plan.

The President added that the government is also bent on cleansing the ARMM’s voters’ list so the region can lose its tag as the “cheating capital” during elections.

A new general registration of voters is slated in the ARMM on July 9-18.

Hataman said even local governments in the region have also exerted efforts to effectively deliver the necessary services to their constituents.

Proof of this, according to Hataman, was the “seal of good housekeeping” awarded to at least 13 local governments in the ARMM last Wednesday for having instituted good governance.

The seal of good housekeeping is part of the performance-based incentive granted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government to local governments for sound fiscal management, transparency and accountability, and valuing performance management.

The President himself handed the award to the mayors of the 13 towns during the closing ceremony on Wednesday of the ARMM Convention on Local Governance at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao here.

The 13 municipalities received a cash incentive of P1 million each from the Performance Challenge Fund of the DILG.

Of the 13 towns, 10 were from Maguindanao – Datu Odin Sinsuat, Parang, Sultan Kudarat, Upi, Mamasapano, Guindulungan, Talayan, Paglat, Sultan Mastura, and Datu Saudi Ampatuan.

The three other recipient towns were Wao in Lanao del Sur, and Pandami and Panglima Estino in Sulu.  – With John Unson