SC asked to intervene in Hataman appointment as ARMM OIC

Several critics of a synchronized Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections on Wednesday expressed opposition to the recent appointment of former party-list Rep. Mujiv Hataman as ARMM officer-in-charge. In an urgent motion to issue clarificatory resolution, election lawyer Romeo Macalintal asked the Supreme Court to clarify that OICs should not yet assume office in the region and that current ARMM elective officials should remain in their posts.   Macalintal insisted that the high court's October 18 ruling — declaring as constitutional Republic Act 10153 (“The Synchronization of the Elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the National and Local Elections”) and paving the way for the appointment of ARMM OICs — was not yet final and executory.   By a narrow vote of 8-7, the court has upheld RA 10153, which defers the ARMM polls to 2013. The elections were originally scheduled last August 8.    Macalintal said since the main decision last October has yet to become final and executory, the temporary restraining order against RA 10153 issued last September should remain in effect.   “The TRO, being part of the said decision, is likewise the subject of the motions for reconsideration filed by the petitioners aggrieved by the said decision of the Supreme Court, hence, the said TRO is still valid and existing since its lifting, like the main decision is not yet final and executory in view of the timely filing of the said motions for reconsideration,” Macalintal said.   In a separate manifestation, another set of petitioners — Almarim Centi Tillah, Datu Casan Conding Cana, and Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) — accused the Aquino administration of resorting to a "shortcut" when it appointed and immediately swore in Hataman.   The petitioners, through their legal counsel, former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., described as a "an imminent danger to the Rule of Law" Aquino's decision to appoint Hataman even if the court hast yet to declare the ruling final and executory.   The petitioners said the appointment would "portend dire events in the ARMM by installing a non-elected Governor and Vice-Governor who would now be empowered to implement policies that will directly impact on their lives in a manner reminiscent of the authoritarian rule in the ‘70s."   The petitioners said due to a close vote on the constitutionality of RA 10153, that a "possibility exists that their motion for reconsideration may be granted." - Mark D. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News