Non-Muslim may be appointed ARMM governor - Comelec

MANILA, Philippines - Even a non-Muslim may be appointed as officer-in-charge (OICS) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes clarified religion or membership in the Islamic faith is not a requirement in the selection of OIC in the ARMM.

The law does not state any religious requirement, even in the election of a regional governor for the autonomous Muslim region, Brillantes pointed out.

“The law does not require that the one who should be appointed should be a Muslim, although it’s supposed to be an autonomous region for Muslim Mindanao,” he said.

Republic Act 6734 provides that “no person may be elected Governor of the Autonomous Region unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter of the Autonomous Region, able to read and write, at least 35 years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Autonomous Region for at least five years immediately preceding the election.”

Comelec Commissioner Elias Yusoph, a Muslim, agreed with the observations of Brillantes that a non-Muslim can be appointed as ARMM OIC.

Yusoph, however, expressed the belief that Malacañang is inclined to appoint a Muslim as OIC governor who will assume the office until the 2013 elections.

“You know the ARMM is created for the Muslims. Since it is ARMM, I think the President will prefer a Muslim as regional governor,” Yusoph said.

Last week, the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the measure seeking to postpone the ARMM elections on Aug. 8, paving the way for Malacañang to appoint OICs in the region to serve until the national midterm elections on 2013.

The military, for its part, will redeploy its troops back to its normal internal security assignment from its supposed poll duties in the ARMM elections.

Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, chief of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the postponement of the ARMM poll in August would also allow the troops to focus on neutralizing private armed groups in Mindanao.

Ferrer said the postponement also eased the political tensions between political factions preparing for the ARMM polls. – With Roel Pareño