Puno swears in Adiong as acting ARMM governor

MANILA, Philippines - Vice Gov. Ansaruddin Adiong took over yesterday as acting governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao after Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan was placed under military custody.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said Adiong now has the power to name officers-in-charge to fill up vacant posts in the regional government.

“We thank acting Gov. Ansaruddin Adiong for this very brave act,” he said.

“His is not going to be an easy task. The tasks that lie ahead are going to be difficult but we have confidence and faith in his ability as acting governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”

His role in the ARMM did not empower him to name a new regional governor or take over the government, Puno said.

Adiong took his oath at Camp Crame in simple rites attended by Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian Balindong, and Governors Sakur Tan of Sulu, Jum Akbar of Basilan, Mamintal Alonto-Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur, and Sadikul Sahali of Tawi-Tawi.

“Today’s exercise will evidence and impress upon everyone that even with martial law in Maguindanao, the Constitution remains in effect, the civilian government is in place... and all other aspects of governance will continue to exist,” Puno said.

“I hope this will lay to rest all the fears about martial law and the delegation to the DILG by the President of her powers of general supervision over the ARMM that these  will result in a de facto takeover of the region.

“That will not be the case. What will be enforced are the laws that continue to be in effect with or without martial law. Our laws remain in place no matter what crisis takes place.”

Adiong, a younger brother of Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr., is also the ARMM’s local government secretary.

‘Detain Ampatuans in Laguna’

Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. recommended yesterday that Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., his brother, ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, and their father, Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., be detained at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

In separate interviews, Pimentel and Estrada said the bungalow at the training camp of the Special Action Force, occupied by Moro National Liberation Front chairman Nur Misuari is secured to ensure the safety of the Ampatuans.

Senator Estrada, who was also detained in Fort Sto. Domingo with his father, former President Joseph Estrada, said the bungalow is better compared to the detention cell at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila.

Booby trap found in town hall

Army ordnance men deactivated a booby trap near the town hall of Ampatuan, Maguindanao yesterday.

Col. Jonathan Ponce, Army 6th Infantry Division spokesman, said residents found the explosive, fashioned from a live fragmentation grenade.

Ampatuan partisans could have rigged the explosives, he added.

Ponce said the booby trap was found two days after soldiers recovered several firearms in a septic tank at the back of the Ampatuan municipal building.

Army ordnance men managed to deactivate the grenades’ firing mechanisms before they could have been accidentally triggered, he added.

Relieved military commanders cleared

Maguindanao military commanders relieved following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town have been cleared of any liability Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton, former Army 6th Infantry Division commander, and Col. Medardo Geslani, 601st Infantry Brigade commander were not remiss in their duties when they failed to provide security escorts to the victims of the Maguindanao massacre.

“The initial report of the AFP inspector general said the two commanders were not remiss in their judgment because any officer in their situation could have decided the same way that they did,” he said.

Brawner said the inspector general gave weight to Geslani’s statement that he could not provide troops to secure the convoy of Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu’s relatives and supporters, and journalists who were supposed to cover the filing of his certificate of candidacy for governor of Maguindanao.

“Colonel Geslani said his troops were thinly spread following the pullout of the 46th infantry battalion from the area, so he had to fill in the vacuum left by the unit,” he said. – With John Unson, Christina Mendez, James Mananghaya, Jaime Laude, Rainier Allan Ronda, Dennis Carcamo