Ampatuan threatens to fire port officials

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao — After purging hundreds of "ghost teachers" from the region’s education department, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan will fire next month key provincial port officials due to their "extremely poor performance" in collecting revenues.

Ampatuan said only the management of Maguindanao’s Polloc Port has been efficiently remitting its collections to the regional treasury in the past months.

He said the Polloc Port has collected P700,000 in January and February alone, a feat never before seen in the history of the 15-year-old ARMM.

Ampatuan said port officials in Lamitan, Basilan, Jolo, Sulu, and Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, have collected less than P30,000 for each port in the past six months.

"This kind of performance is something we cannot tolerate. Measures will be undertaken to address the seeming mismanagement of the supposedly big ports in these areas," he said.

In a dialogue here the other day, Ampatuan announced his plan to revamp port personnel in the three island-provinces in early April to revitalize revenue collection.

Ampatuan declined to name the port officials concerned, saying, though, a group of lawyers and auditors is now thoroughly evaluating their performance.

"This is part of the reforms we are introducing to convert the ARMM government into a performing entity," he said.

Ampatuan, however, said he will see to it that the governors of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi will have a role in selecting port managers for their respective provinces.

Under the ARMM charter, Republic Act 9054, and the Local Government Code, port operators are supposed to religiously remit their collections to the regional treasurer’s office.

The region’s executive and legislative departments will, in turn, earmark appropriations for the operations and improvements of all ports in the autonomous region.

Regional treasurer Hadji Kanggo Umal said that with adequate revenues, the people are assured of efficient port services in the island-provinces.

"The more revenues we can generate, the more funds we have for basic services for all sectors in the ARMM," he said.