5 Mindanao solons file bill to defer ARMM polls until 2010

MANILA, Philippines - Five Mindanao lawmakers on Thursday filed a bill seeking the postponement of the August 11 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections until 2010, when the government is expected to have already reached a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The lawmakers filed House Bill 4832 which proposes to amend Section 1 of Republic Act 9333 - the law that sets the August 11 ARMM elections - by replacing the date of the ARMM polls to coincide with the May 2010 national elections. Those who authored the House Bill 4832 are representatives Faysah Dumarpa of Lanao del Sur, Simeon Datumanong of Maguindanao, Munir Arbison of Sulu, Mujiv Hataman of party-list Anak Mindanao, and Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur. In a statement, Dumarpa said the proposed postponement of the ARMM polls until 2010 will remove possible roadblocks in the peace negotiations with the MILF. Dumarpa noted that the MILF is pushing for the expansion of the ARMM coverage in its peace negotiations with the government. The lawmaker added that the filing of the bill was their response to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's endorsement of the postponement. “Aside from the 712 new barangays and the two cities of Lamitan and Cotabato which are set to be included in the expanded ARMM, the MILF is also pushing for the inclusion of its controlled and influenced areas in the region," Dumarpa said. The bill also includes a provision for the geographical expansion of the ARMM and the creation of the Bangsamoro juridical entity which is envisioned to control the natural resources situated in ARMM. “Such provisions will entail consultation with the communities affected by way of plebiscite for their approval and possible amendment of the constitution," Dumarpa said. Dumarpa also said “more than 50 Mindanao congressmen" will meet on July 29 to discuss the bill. The proposed deferment of the ARMM elections, however, may face rough sailing at the Senate with at least 10 senators voicing opposition against such initiatives. Earlier in the day, radio dzXL said those opposed to proposals to postpone the ARMM are: • Senate President Manuel Villar II, • Senate President Pro-tempore Jose “Jinggoy" Estrada, • Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, • Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr, • Sen. Richard Gordon, • Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, • Sen. Pia Cayetano, • Sen. Mar Roxas II, • Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, and • Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile. Meanwhile, a female Mindanao lawmaker, Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza questioned the proposed 30-percent expansion of the territory of the ARMM under a new memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain set to be signed by the government and MILF. Under the proposed memorandum, Taliño-Mendoza said up to 712 barangays that currently do not belong to the ARMM would be “annexed" to the self-governing region. At present, the ARMM has a total of 2,470 barangays in Marawi City and 111 municipalities across six provinces - Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Shariff Kabunsuan. Taliño-Mendoza said government and MILF negotiators “should stop using Mindanao villages, whether chiefly Christian or Muslim, as pawns to be playfully bargained away." “Have government negotiators bargained away the whole store? How many times to we have to capitulate just to appease the MILF? How many plebiscites do we have to conduct just to satisfy them?" Taliño-Mendoza asked. The Mindanao lawmaker also urged government negotiators to “fully disclose" every detail of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain drafted by both the government and MILF peace panels in Kuala Lumpur. “The people of Mindanao are entitled to know the fine points of the proposed new accord now, even before it is signed by both parties," Taliño-Mendoza said. “We are Filipinos born and raised in Mindanao. We deserve to know exactly what the government negotiators promised the MILF, and precisely what the MILF pledged in return... It is bad enough negotiators never consulted us from the start. Now, it turns out that some of our villages were apparently reduced as bargaining chips in the talks," she added. - GMANews.TV