A new ARMM?

No doubt, there is a dynamic energy hovering over the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) complex nowadays. It is not the usual "ghosts" (ghost voters, teachers, employees and officials)! The energy refers to the new OIC Governor Mujiv Hataman. The Office of the Governor that has been "dysfunctional" for quite sometime has suddenly been transformed into a real beehive of activities. The governor reports to office as early as 7:30 in the morning and leaves about 10 in the evening.   Gov. Mujiv has an informal and casual look and a ready smile that welcomes the stream of people who want to speak to the governor. The scene, with less trappings, would remind people of an emir sitting in his tent as he personally grants an audience to his constituency. Yes, there are also streams of people who seek jobs in that 30,000-plus ARMM bureaucracy.    ARMM is the biggest employment agency in the region. How many of those so-called 30,000-plus employees are real is a million-dollar question. But the governor has decided in his first 100 days in office to purge the list of all "ghosts." Thus, he has become the biggest "Ghostbuster" in town!   Last week, even before the ink has dried up on the appointment papers of his cabinet secretaries and top ARMM officials, Gov. Mujiv, in partnership with the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (a regional policy institute), sat down for three days to draw the roadmap for the reforms that should be seen in the ARMM during his first 100 days in office and the direction for real reforms in the coming 17 months. Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, Prof. Cielito Habito, Ms. Amina Rasul, Prof. Mehol Sadain and Atty. Bong Parcasio shared their expertise and experiences as the ARMM officials draw the needed "quick wins" in their respective agencies and introduce the real reforms to change people’s perception of and the image of the ARMM.   During Gov. Mujiv's first 100 days, the cabinet secretaries have for their quick wins simple things like 8/5 meaning eight hours and five days work a week. This is revolutionary in a place known for 15-30 reporting, meaning they only appear in their respective offices on paydays. The slogan "No tardiness and perfect attendance" during the first 100 days may sound banal but this simple act shows the seriousness of people to reform the bureaucracy.   Each line agency would also run hotlines where the constituents are listened to and given immediate answers to their complaints and suggestions. The hotline includes the Office of the Governor and in lucky days, the people may even have a chat with the governor himself.   Reforming the bureaucracy is daunting and the governor cannot be seen as simply a Ghostbuster, albeit this is important in a "haunted" place. The reforms that people want is the delivery of basic services – particularly in areas of basic education and primary health. There is the urgent need to deliver healthcare to the constituents, meaning access to health services and appropriate medicine. The ARMM region has the highest infant mortality rate and highest illiteracy rate in the entire country. It will take time to change this but a simple reform like ensuring that all municipal health centers are equipped with trained personnel and adequate medicine would go very far in changing the image of the region. The same goes for the educational reforms. Besides ghosts, there are also "flying students" and "flying teachers." This anomalies, perhaps, only exist in the ARMM. But it has been discovered that you need to show that there are enough students and teachers to continue to operate a school with proper budgetary allocation. To do this, some unscrupulous school officials resort to "flying" in students and teachers from neighboring schools.   What is interesting is the fact that the new governor is serious about transparency and accountability. He has adopted the advocacy of Sen. TG for an open budget system that guarantees transparency and people’s participation in the budget preparation. Now he is toying with the concept of open governance that would ensure people’s participation at every level in governance and policy making. If these radical measures are adopted, ARMM would be the first region in the country that would implement an open budget and an open governance!   The task, no doubt, is gargantuan! But with no-nonsense public officials in the ARMM, cooperative people and civil society around, local and national expertise, and above all, full support from the national government, the real reforms in the ARMM are possible.   Next in the reform agenda in the ARMM is the much-awaited electoral reforms! What to do with the books of voters full of ghost voters?