President Aquino should appoint a non-Politician as ARMM OIC Governor

In the field of diplomacy, body language is the most important thing. If you know how to read another's body language, you'll be able to act accordingly.


Why do I say that body language is important? Well...


Malacanang, thru Secretary Jesse Robredo says that much needed reforms would now be implemented in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or ARMM once President Benigno Aquino exercises his appointing power and designate Officers-in-Charge before October ends.


The Supreme Court just voted 8-7 agreeing with the Executive that the President and Congress have the powers to postpone the ARMM elections and designate OICs to manage the ARMM for two years.


Robredo says the government intends to implement serious reforms at the ARMM to be able to prove to the world that autonomy is still the best solution to solve the Bangsamoro Question. 


Right now, government and even peace advocates offer no alternative solution to calls for independence. A group of pro-independence advocates already formed their own group, the Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters Movement (BFFM). This formation throws back years worth of negotiations between government and the MILF, once the biggest and the most formidable foe of government in achieving lasting peace in the region.


Now, government has finally been given the power to prove that ARMM still works. The question is---how serious really is government in this?


Look at the list of possible appointees for the posts of OIC Governor and Vice Governors and you'll notice that majority of these candidates are or were involved in one way or another in traditional polities.


Mujiv Hataman, a good friend of mine, was once elected Congressman of Basilan. He is a strong ally of the President. However, he has a long standing feud with the ruling Akbar clan. Sources say he is the strongest candidate for governor.


If Hataman is elected governor, it just proves that government is not really interested in reforms, it is just interested in securing the entire region for the eventual victory of the ruling political administration party come 2013. Hataman is a strong ally of the Liberals and of President Noynoy Aquino. 


Think---why would you appoint Hataman when he has a standing warrant of arrest for alleging masterminding the killing of Congressman Akbar? Surely, the Akbars would militate once Hataman assumes power,  even bigger than what he has before.


Government should appoint a non-politician, and reading the names in the list, I dare say that only former MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu, deserves to be the OIC Governor.


First, he does not have any pending or standing criminal case against him, and second, he is a non-politician. If government really wants reforms in the ARMM, Kabalu is the best candidate for the post. 

Philippine Supreme Court made a grievous error in TRO

The ALL MORO ALLIANCE FOR REFORMS or AMAR stormed the High Court's offices today to demand for the immediate uplifting of the Temporary Restraining Order or TRO issued by the court enjoining the government not to implement RA 10153 which seeks to synchronize the ARMM elections with that of the national and local midterm elections in 2013. 

The group accused the Supreme Court of being "anti-Moro". Question---was the decision really smacks of anti-Islamism? Yes.

The SC knew that a TRO would definitely place the entire peace process in jeopardy. Many Bangsamoros prefer to replace the current ARMM leadership with the ones they trust. 

Many Bangsamoros prefer Eid Kabalu, the former spokesperson of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to lead them as Governor and prepare ARMM for the 2013 elections. 

What the Supreme Court did was a disservice to the people. The least that the Bangsamoro people need is an obstruction to the attainment of peace. This TRO came at the time when both the MILF and the GRP have both reached a compromise on how to solve the contentious issues of peace in that region.

A source say that it was the Arroyos who influenced the Supreme Court to issue that TRO. Now groups are frantic looking for other solutions or points to agree; and second, this could be used by other MILF groups in justifying their presumptions that the government is ill-advised and not totally honest in looking for concrete solutions to end the decades-old conflict.

Really, politics continue to monkey wrench its way against peace and development.