Hataman taps lawyer to lead ARMM's agri department

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The chief executive of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has enlisted a young Moro lawyer to manage the ARMM’s agriculture and fisheries department to ensure prudent spending of government funds,  officials said.

Senior members of the ARMM’s Regional Communications Group (ComGroup) told The Star Wednesday that the newly appointed agriculture secretary, Makmod Mending Jr., an ethnic Maguindanaon, assumed office Tuesday, after having been appointed last week by Gov. Mujiv Hataman.

Mending replaced Engineer Maritess Maguindra, whom Hataman appointed as regional tourism secretary.   

Maguindra was secretary of the ARMM’s trade department while Mending was officer-in-charge of the region’s Department of Interior and Local Government when Hataman was still officer in-charge of the region, from December 22, 2011, until he was elected regional governor in the May polls.

Mending, while ARMM’s DILG chief, implemented various programs  to  improve and enhance relations between and among  the region’s 116 mayors and five provincial governors.

“He is qualified to become agriculture secretary of ARMM,”said Amir Mawalil, ARMM’s ComGroup executive director.

Hataman said he is certain that Mending, as a practicing lawyer, will be able to efficiently manage the expenditures of  ARMM’s agriculture and fisheries department.

The department is one of the three “hugely funded” agencies in the autonomous region, second to the ARMM’s Department of Public Works and Highways, which implements costly multi-million infrastructure projects in the region, and the regional health department.