ARMM pols to vote for all Muslim Senate bets

COTABATO CITY — The 24-member Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and their constituent-leaders will cross political lines by voting for all Muslim senatorial candidates belonging to different parties in the May 10 elections.

ARMM Speaker Ismael Abubakar Jr. said apart from ARMM Gov. Parouk Hussin, who is running for the Senate under the K-4 slate of President Arroyo, they will also vote for Amina Rasul, who hails from Sulu, and outgoing Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen, both of the opposition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP).

"It is for the interest of Muslim Filipinos in the country and to ensure our representation in the legislature that we will vote for highly qualified Muslims running for the Senate. I hope President Arroyo will not take this noble intention against us. We are in a democracy anyway," Abubakar said.

Abubakar, a registered voter of Bohe Indangan, a seaside barangay in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, said he is certain that Mrs. Arroyo, the common candidate of all ARMM assemblymen, will defeat her rivals by an overwhelming margin in his island-province.

"Since President Arroyo is the RLA’s candidate for president, we are convinced that the Lakas-CMD (Christian-Muslim Democrats) will bear with us, with patience and understanding, if we in the regional legislature will vote for Muslim senatorial candidates from other parties," he said.

Abukakar said he is convinced that having Hussin, Rasul and Dilangalen in the Senate would project Muslim-Christian solidarity in the South and enhance the Mindanao peace process through peace-oriented legislations they can sponsor as senators.

Hussin belongs to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and as a member of the front’s peace panel, helped draft the Sept. 2, 1996 peace accord. He was elected ARMM governor in 2001.

Abubakar said having Muslim senators will not just complement Malacañang’s peace initiatives in Mindanao, but will also project to the international community, particularly the Organization of Islamic Conference, that Muslim Filipinos are assured of a forum where their sentiments on various concerns, including governance and socio-economic undertakings, will be ventilated.