Arroyos' bill to tinker with Charter change: lawmaker

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  – House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao and Zamboanga City Second District Rep. Ma. Isabel Climaco-Salazar has expressed alarm over the plan of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to amend the Constitution to perpetuate herself in power.

Salazar said Mrs. Arroyo and her son Camarines Rep. Diosdado Arroyo filed House Bill 173 last Tuesday seeking the creation of two autonomous regions in southern Philippines – the Autonomous Region in Southwestern Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Central Mindanao.

The bills plan to tinker with the Charter by amending Republic Act (RA) 6734 that created the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Salazar said the real intention of the Arroyos in meddling in the affairs of Mindanao despite being being outsiders is to revive a similar bill filed by Tawi-Tawi Rep. Nur Jaafar that was shelved during the last Congress.

“As a Mindanaon, we were alarmed by the real intention of the mother and son, and being outsiders why they are trying to meddle. We believe that they are using Mindanao to tamper with the Constitution to perpetuate herself in power,” said Salazar, citing Mrs. Arroyo’s intention to establish a parliamentary form of government through a Charter change and get herself elected as prime minister. 

Salazar called on other Mindanao lawmakers, especially those in the areas affected by the proposed expansion and creation of another autonomous region, to oppose the bill.

Salazar said that the two proposed autonomous regions would each have a regional executive branch and a regional legislative assembly.

Among the areas of coverage are the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, and the cities of Isabela, Pagadian, Dipolog, Dapitan, and Zamboanga in Southwestern Mindanao; and the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, Iligan, Kidapawan, General Santos, Koronadal, and Tacurong that will comprise the Autonomous Region in Central Mindanao.

The regional seat for the Southwestern area will be in Zamboanga City while the Central Mindanao region will be in Cotabato City.

The residents of the proposed autonomous regions would hold a plebiscite that will be synchronized with the barangay elections scheduled this October.

The bill of the Arroyos states that the creation and expansion of the autonomous region in Mindanao would help solve the geographical constraint of the current ARMM, which is hard to govern.

Salazar, however, warned the Arroyos that Zamboanga City residents have rejected their inclusion the autonomous region in two plebiscites held in 1989.

She said that the opposition to the inclusion in the autonomous region has grown stronger even as the towns that chose to be part of the ARMM have expressed disappointment with the autonomous government and now want to be excluded from the region.