ARMM officials to let Hataman reorganize regional cabinet freely

COTABATO CITY – Key officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have started resigning from their posts to give reelected ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman enough leeway in organizing a new regional cabinet.Hataman, regional figurehead of the Liberal Party, won a second term during the May 9 regional elections, defeating an independent candidate for ARMM governor, Sulu Vice Gov. Sakur Tan.The first to file a courtesy resignation from the executive department of ARMM was Hataman’s alter-ego, Regional Executive Secretary Laisa Masuhud-Alamia.Alamia said she is thankful to Hataman for giving her chance to serve the regional government on a co-terminus capacity.Alamia started working in the ARMM government as chairperson of the Regional Human Rights Commission after Hataman got to the helm of the region’s executive department as an appointed caretaker in December 2011.Hataman was first elected regional governor of ARMM, which covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, on May 13, 2013.Alamia said she is confident Hataman can effectively pursue his peace and development agenda for the autonomous region in the next three years since he is certain of cross-section support based on the overwhelming electoral imprimatur he got from voters during the May 9 polls.Hataman garnered a total of 875,200 votes as against the 341,250 votes counted in favor of the less influential Tan. The autonomous region has about 1.5 million voters, but only between 50 to 60 percent of them go to polling precincts during elections due to security and geographical constraints.Amihilda Sangcopan, ARMM’s agrarian reform secretary, said she is contented with how Hataman supported the operation of her department during his first term as regional governor.It was only during Hataman’s time when the Department of Agrarian Reform managed to distribute hundreds of certificates of land ownership to farmers in the ARMM provinces. The past three years were very challenging for us. Reforms were introduced into the regional bureaucracy and the efforts paid off,” Sangcopan said.Hataman on Saturday told political leaders in Basilan, during an open-field thanksgiving dialogue, he would not begrudge those who supported Tan during the May 9 elections for ARMM governor. The elections are over. Let us unite now and work for peace and development in the autonomous region,” Hataman said in a speech during the event, organized by local officials.ARMM’s health secretary, foreign-trained ophthalmologist Kadil Sinolinding, Jr., said he is grateful to have served the Hataman administration as member of the regional cabinet. We have improved hospitals and public health centers that became dormant during the time of past administrations due to security and administrative problems. We hit our health intervention targets with the help of the regional governor,” Sinolinding said.