Misuari’s security men picket over unpaid wages

COTABATO CITY — Heavily armed security men of Gov. Nur Misuari, mostly his relatives, closed for almost half a day and picketed the executive building here of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) last Wednesday, to protest the non-payment of their salaries for seven months now.

It was the second time, since 1997, that the security personnel showed force at Misuari’s office and threatened employees to dramatize their sentiments against the governor’s failure to pay them their wages and other fringe benefits.

It was only through the intercession of ARMM Executive Secretary Abdulrahman Ahmin and regional Natural Resources Secretary Datu Randy Karon, that the protesters, some armed with AK-47 Kalashnikov rifles, opened the main door of Misuari’s office.

"We were so scared that we almost jumped out of the windows when we saw (the security guards) roaming around the (governor’s office) with their sophisticated firearms," said a technical staffer, who requested anonymity.

In 1997, the same security men surrounded Misuari’s office and threatened to fire B-40 rockets at the ARMM’s executive building to protest the delayed payment of their salaries.

"What is painful here is that the group is led by members of the Misuari family," said an insider.

A check with Misuari’s office showed that funds for the security guards’ salaries are drawn from the governor’s Special Purpose Fund (SPF), the bulk of which are spent for his costly travels, hotel and restaurant bills.

"Often, the entire SPF is forwarded to Gov. Misuari without cuts for supposed allocation for the salaries of these security guards. And the governor knows about it," said a senior staffer.

Mahendra Madjilon, chief of the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information, was quoted yesterday by Catholic radio station dxMS as saying that key officials had peacefully resolved the matter.

The protesting security guards, Madjilon said, agreed to return to work after getting assurance of the payment of their salaries.

In 1997, nine followers of Misuari, griping over the non-payment of their salaries for almost a year as security guards, padlocked, for 10 months, the Sulu office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Sources from the DILG-ARMM said Misuari appointed the security guards, all members of the Moro National Liberation Front, without first consulting the finance office if funds were available for their salaries or not.