Ampatuan reaches out to rivals

COTABATO CITY — The newly elected governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has started reaching out to his political rivals so his peace and development initiatives could take off without any hitches when he takes over on Sept. 30.

Among the first to reconcile with Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, proclaimed winner in the Aug. 8 ARMM gubernatorial race last Thursday by Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos, were siblings Datu Norodin and Datu Guimid Matalam, both uncles and advisers of one of his rivals, businessman Ibrahim Paglas.

Datu Norodin is the incumbent vice mayor of vote-rich Pagalungan town in Maguindanao.

His elder brother, Datu Guimid, withdrew his candidacy for ARMM governor a week before the polls in support of Ampatuan, whose father, Datu Andal Ampatuan, is the Maguindanao governor and provincial chairman of the Lakas-Christian, Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).

Ampatuan said among the problems he will address during his first 100 days in office is the "missing" P1 billion worth of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) contributions which have been deducted from the salaries of thousands of teachers in the region in the past years.

For nearly three years now, the GSIS has suspended all benefits of the teachers due to the non-remittance by the ARMM education department of their contributions.

"I will not point accusing fingers. I will instead focus on how I can forge a scheme with the central office of the GSIS on how these heavy arrearages can be settled so that the teachers can avail themselves again of much-needed loans from the GSIS," Ampatuan said.

Defeated gubernatorial bet Mahid Mutilan, who will relinquish the vice governorship on Sept. 30 to Ampatuan’s running mate, Ansarudin Adiong, was the regional education secretary from 2001 to 2004.

Ampatuan said he will also focus on forging stronger linkages between the ARMM government and the foreign donors and international humanitarian organizations involved in the region.

"The ARMM government cannot survive relying only on the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to bankroll its peace and development thrusts. We must help the national government, which is obviously experiencing budgetary constraints by not relying on it for all our needs," he said.

Ampatuan, 37, the youngest ever governor of the 15-year-old ARMM, said he will also encourage members of the 24-seat Regional Legislative Assembly to focus on legislations that will complement President Arroyo’s peace initiatives in the South.

Several forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are scattered in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both component provinces of the ARMM.

Confidence-Building Measures

Ampatuan said he will direct all mayors of the two provinces to intensify their involvement in the government’s confidence-building measures with the MILF to further improve the cordiality of the peace talks.

"Of course, along these initiatives is the effort of promoting religious, cultural and political solidarity among our religious and political leaders, the datus and sultans in the ARMM," he said.

Ampatuan said the support of the region’s culturally diverse political and religious leaders for him and Adiong was enough proof that his administration will not find it difficult to reconcile leaders of warring factions.

So huge were the leads of Ampatuan and Adiong over their respective rivals that even if their votes in Maguindanao were deducted from their tallies, they would still emerge winners.

Ampatuan got a total of 593,824 votes, defeating by 388,324 votes his closest rival, Mahid Mutilan, who garnered only 205,500.

For his part, Adiong got 542,445 votes, defeating by 323,441 votes Ismael Abubakar Jr., who ranked second in the final tally in the vice gubernatorial race.

The ARMM covers Marawi City, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao, and the island-provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.

Mutilan, Abubakar Bailiwicks

Ampatuan lost to Mutilan in Lanao del Sur by 39,857 votes, while Adiong was defeated by Abubakar in Tawi-Tawi by 23,503 votes.

Lanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi are known bailiwicks of Mutilan, a Maranaw, and Abubakar, an ethnic Samal, respectively.

In Maguindanao, Ampatuan and Adiong got 288,344 and 252,886 votes, respectively. Twenty-seven of the 28 mayors in the province supported the tandem.

If the votes separately garnered by Ampatuan and Adiong in Maguindanao were deducted from the final regional tally, they would still end up with 305,483 and 298,559 votes, respectively.

If so, Ampatuan would still command a lead of 99,983 votes over Mutilan, while Adiong would still be far ahead of Abubakar by 149,264 votes.

Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason, who was in-charge of Maguindanao in the Aug. 8 elections, said he has not received of any formal electoral complaint in the province, a known stronghold of the Lakas-CMD, as of Thursday night.

"There were text messages received by my staffers reporting alleged irregularities, but not a single complainant has come out in the open to present to us documented evidence of cheating," Tuason told The STAR.

Overwhelming Mandate

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, incumbent ARMM trade secretary, and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, both legal counsels of Ampatuan and Adiong, said the region’s about 1.3 million voters have given their clients an overwhelming mandate.

Mastura, a Maguindanaon datu, described as "concession votes" those garnered by Adiong and Ampatuan in the island-provinces of the ARMM.

"They both enjoyed the support of the traditional Moro leaders in the ARMM so it was already very apparent, even before the Aug. 8 elections, that Ampatuan and Adiong would enjoy the support of the people led by these Moro leaders," he said.

Leaders of the MILF and MNLF, however, continued to assail the results of the ARMM polls.

For his part, MILF political officer Jun Mantawil said, "Those who garnered the most votes were not chosen by the people but by the henchmen of politicians usually aided by election officials."

The MILF, as a matter of policy, did not take part in the regional polls, while factions within the MNLF were divided on whether to participate or not.

Marawi City Mayor Omar Solitario Ali, an MNLF leader who threw his support behind Mutilan, urged President Arroyo to listen to the voice of the people.

For the third straight day yesterday, residents of Marawi City and elsewhere in Lanao del Sur had been holding protest rallies at the Bangolo public square in Marawi to assail alleged cheating in the regional elections.

Outgoing ARMM Gov. Parouk Hussin, who withdrew his re-election bid days before the elections, will turn over the reins of the regional government to Ampatuan on Sept. 30. — With Lino de la Cruz