Hataman's first 100 days/ Fully Abled Nation

Great expectations surrounded former Congressman Mujiv Hataman’s appointment as Officer-in-Charge/Governor of Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) December last year. Hopes were high that he would initiate changes in a region perceived to be very poor, and, worse, ruled over by corrupt officials and clans.

A report coming from the governor’s office citing his accomplishments during his first 100 days in office shows plus points. He has reportedly succeeded in initiating reforms in structure, systems and processes of the ARMM bureaucracy with the theme, “Matuwid na Pamamahala Tungo sa ARMM na Masagana’t Mapayapa.”

Just the other day, the Philippine STAR’s front page left ear reported an item that should boost the governor’s efforts at cleansing the once Aegean ARMM stable. This was Comelec Rene Sarmiento’s disclosure that 130,000 “ghost voters” and multiple registrants have been discovered and removed from the ARMM’s voters’ list. Commissioner Sarmiento also said that as of the October 2010 barangay polls, there were a total of 1,707,277 registered voters in the region, and there was no need to nullify the existing voters’ list.

This disclosure helps Hataman in his housecleaning drive. The removal of spurious voters means having free elections, with rightfully registered voters electing candidates of their choice. With this development, it is expected that gold, guns and goons will not be in practice in the midterm elections scheduled for next year in the region. What a blessing this development is for the former Anak Mindanao Party List representative.

Hataman’s “good housekeeping” strategy has been instituted in the bureaucracy. He has recalled detailed staff; appointed credible and competent ARMM officials; ordered the inventory of ARMM personnel and the use of ATM in salaries of employees and teachers and of a biometric machine for the employees’ daily time record. He has insisted on the presence of employees in the weekly flag ceremony, opened a hotline to his office, and conducted regular cabinet meetings. No cash advances are made, and a MOA has been signed between ARMM and the governor’s office to assure transactions with the GSIS, especially with regard to school teachers’ salaries.  

Through an inventory of ARMM personnel, including teachers, and with the strict observance of COA rules and regulations, the ARMM government was able to save more than P200 million from the “ghost busting” initiative. Another 232 ghost employees were discovered.

Part of the administrative reform is strengthening financial management to ensure that accounting rules and regulations are observed properly and transactions are valid and legitimate. With this measure, in three months, the ARMM government was able to freeze a total of P77.5 million DepEd transaction intended for school maintenance and other operating expenses which were supposed to be released to the school divisions long before the new administration assumed office.

Governor Hataman also launched the first Open Governance system in his region. The IT system will have all budgets, disbursements and spending open to the public for complete transparency.

The OIC, according to the first 100 days report, has started decentralizing its power to its line departments and offices by augmenting the resources of these agencies from the Special Purpose Fund. This administration also ensures that the LGUs get their mandated share from the revenues of the region. Some P60-million have been disbursed for the purpose.

 To effectively deliver programs and projects, the ARMM government has adopted the strategy of clustering the agencies. Further, the local government units during the planners’ planning decided to cluster themselves and came out with 17 LGU clusters. The BASULA Satellite Office in Zamboanga city was also organized to strengthen coordination and service delivery in the island provinces.

 Seven regional summits were held in the areas of environment, economics, education and health, agriculture and fisheries and youth, while social contract with partners and electoral reform were also initiated.

 The Office of the Regional Vice-Governor (ORVG) has undertaken various activities including the implementation of programs and projects of PAMANA for the local government units, Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and other sectors with the support of CSOs.

 The governor has our thanks for reforming the image of the region.

Disabled persons have the right to vote and to run for public office. That they should be able to participate in the 2013 midterm elections and other democratic processes is the rallying cry of organizers of the newly launched Fully Abled Nation project.

A group of disability peoples organizations (DPOs) and NGOs have partnered with The Asia Foundation, with support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), in a nationwide campaign that aims to increase the participation of persons with disabilities in the elections. At the launch, DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said of the event as “revolutionary,” its not just being a social welfare issue, but a human rights issue.    

AusAID Minister Counsellor Octavia Borthwick said, “This event marks an important and positive beginning in demonstrating to the whole Philippines, and to the international community, the potential of PWDs individually and collectively, to fully participate in inclusive nation building. I hope our friends with disabilities present here today, recognize this step as an advancement towards reaching more of your objectives so you can be part of the process of nation building and development.”

High point of the event was the signing of the Declaration of Commitment by the launch participants, parts of which committed them to implement the provisions in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which recognizes, among others, the inherent dignity and inalienable rights of all members of society, and promote an environment in which persons with disabilities can effectively participate in the conduct of public affairs without discrimination.  

Various projects under the Fully Abled Nation campaign include an assessment of the situation of PWDs, focus group discussions and dedicated surveys nationwide, piloting electoral reform in Bohol, development and application of disability-inclusive volunteer management systems in Cebu, among others.

In his speech at the launch, Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento stressed the need for a PWD party list in Congress, and hope that a disabled person would be appointed to sit as a Comelec commissioner.

Fully Abled Nation is part of a three-year Disability-Inclusive Elections Program spearheaded by The Asia Foundation, and supported by AusAID.  

Meanwhile, a pending House bill 4048, or “Polling Center Accessibility Act,” will help increase PWDs participation in voting. According to the Social Weather Stations (SWS), among the disabled, the percentage is highest among visually impaired, followed by orthopedically impaired and hearing impaired.

“Aside from providing them access to pathways and doorways, we should also help them exercise their right to vote,” said Secretary Robredo, whose father and two siblings are visually impaired. He added said that there are 2.6 to 3 million Filipino PWD voters. “What we need is provide them the access. We need more accessible registration sites and voting precincts so that PWDs will be encouraged to go out and vote .”

* * *

My e-mail: [email protected]