Is the ARMM a failed arrangement?

(A blog by taboan.net)

(Following was a discussion about the ARMM among bloggers, which I found interesting, hence I am featuring the same in this page. I also participated in the discussion though I used a pseudonym)

Its been over a decade since the establishment of the AUTONOMOUS REGION OF MUSLIM MINDANAO (we insist, it should be the Autonomous Region OF Muslim Mindanao instead of Autonomous Region IN Muslim Mindanao...a world of difference lies in the use of one or the other) and what does it have to show for itself?

Isn't it time to throw in the towel and call it quits for this Cory-era experiment in local governance? Haven't we wasted enough taxpayers' money for a totally dispensable layer of government bureaucracy that gobbles up nearly 90% of its annual budget for salaries alone?

What more, this regional government has proceeded to "gerrymander" provinces, municipalities and even villages to suit the whims and caprices of local warlords and political kingpins, cutting these up to create more 'salaried' positions which usually only goes to relatives, allies and/or tribe-mates.Why should there be a Muslim Mindanao in the first place when there is no room in our Constitution for a Christian Visayas or an Animist Cordilleras?Mindanao is neither Muslim nor Christian...it is FILIPINO! (Jamju Alano Rivera)

EF says on Dec. 19, 2007

Jamju it is a little bit more. Let us forget about corruption ok? Because that is a fact it seems we have to live with, like it or not. And most of the time corruption starts by BIG BUSINESS MONEY people. They want things done and no matter how, so you buy and deal! If it works with money if necessary with blood. It is like a river starting in the mountains it is small, clear and healthy for all that lives. Down under it grows stronger, deeper and get dirty by pollution and abuse.....

Is the ARMM a failed experiment? Not yet or maybe even not yet at all. Many wish and maybe pray to see this happen. So there is again room for a civil war and........... room for BIG MONEY COWBOYS who want to start coalmining, woodcut and golddigging..... Beside that is the ARMM a promisssssss, maybe one of the few that is (keeping) alive by the Manila clan euhhhhh sorry Government?! Another thing is that promises make between money-grabbers ("developers") and gov’t.-party's most of the time not hold by the developers. We know this for decades already. "As the logging companies did not fulfill the reforestation agreement as stated on the Timber License Agreement (TLA), the same thing would happen with the mining company. They could never bring back the soil of the mountains that they would destroy, flatten, and dig.""Since the arrival of the company (SUDECOR), the rivers and creeks have been silted. Slowly, the fish such as tilapia on the rivers and creeks have been disappearing.""Based on our experience, the areas that were destroyed by logging never again regained its former appearance and state. What more with mining where the mountain itself will be destroyed?""TVI Minerals Processing, Inc., an affiliate of a Canadian mining company TVI Pacific Inc., filed before the regional office of MGB-DENR two exploration permits for the exploration of gold, copper, silver, and other associated metallic mineral resources in three barangays in this town; namely Dapiwak, Dilud, and Lipawan; covering a total of 13,446 hectares".

You are right Jamju...Mindanao is neither Muslim nor Christian...it is FILIPINO! How about it is time we call all FILIPINO's to stand up and protect the wonderful rich sources we have for our grand-grandchildren. Doing so the Philippines have what is about nowhere in the world A BEAUTIFUL NATURE. People all over the world will come to see that. Even today many rich country's spend billions of dollars to restore the "green area's" in their country, realizing they are going much too far in developing.........

Let us all work together and see the ARMM stays the way it is as a promised land!

Michael says on Dec. 20, 2007

hi ef... can you blog on this? I mean about what’s happening here... MOST of us doesn’t even know this is happening. It’s a pity if we can’t have access to this kind of information..

EF says on Dec. 20, 2007

Dear friend Michael: I only give 4 quotes on lifetime issues right here in Mindanao. If I want to do so, i can give you 4,000 right now. Official reports both from Manila as local officials. And i think we have to listen more and more to local authorities if, IF, we really wanna know the truth. And NO i can not give all sources as it is dangerous to do so. But read the information given by some close friends of you Michael....... it is heartbreaking but inspiring. Don’t get sad my friends.... HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN..........

Jamju Alano Rivera says on Dec. 21, 2007

The ARMM isn't a promise. Far from it. It’s a concession. Much like the mining and logging concessions which you believe should not fall in the hands of what you so succinctly called "BIG MONEY COWBOYS"...the ARMM is the biggest concession ever given to a single corporate entity...the MNLF!The Philippine Government under Marcos initially agreed (without our consent, I must add) to give away 13 provinces to the MNLF as a part of their autonomous Bangsamoro Homeland in the infamous Tripoli Agreement... and very, very soon...the MILF as well will be given yet another concession by our Imperial Government in Manila in the form of the euphemistically termed "expanded indigenous peoples' homeland" which will - AGAIN - include areas of Mindanao, the populations of whom are vehemently against any form of concession to these Muslim Secessionist groups.

After a succession of openly corrupt regional governors (give me one name...ONE NAME...among them that isn't tainted with corruption!)... the ARMM remains today as the government's biggest dole-out! Money is funneled into ARMM and is immediately dissipated, first through a legal maneuver which ensures that the entire family of a local warlord receives a monthly "pension" from the national government...I say pension because these people aren't doing anything at all to earn the money that they are practically stealing under our very own noses.

Corruption is endemic throughout the Philippines, I admit. The ARMM, however, tops everyone else in its venality. Be it in public works, distribution of funds, ghost employee payrolls, unpaid GSIS payments, even elections! You name it, the ARMM is the worst at it. And nobody's doing anything about it.

We advocate the immediate abolition of the ARMM and the nullification of all its acts since its inception. It is an anomaly... a cancerous growth that needs to be excised at the soonest. Its an utter waste of taxpayers' money. It is a welfare society that practices "reverse discrimination"...and yeah...you can tell this to all the Ampatuans and their lordlings reigning over the ARMM right now... we will move heaven and earth to return Mindanao to its people... the real people of Mindanao... and by this I definitely say ALL MINDANAOANS...and not the bogus Bangsamoro ONLY!!!Mindanao is neither Muslim nor Christian...it is FILIPINO!

EF says on Dec. 22, 2007

Simple question: have you any proof, any written or spoken testifying or justification of all you write here? Yes, the ARMM is far from perfect but, as you stated here yourself dear Jamju, corruption is endemic throughout the Philippines. Our beloved Government including Manila is even killing, murdering, abusing and more of these "fine" things as a rapport of the European Union bring out to the world. And about corruption, please Jamju.... "give me one name...ONE NAME...among them that isn't tainted with corruption"!!!! And how about you and me??? Are we not also, now and then, more or less, eating something from the same bread of corruption?? Sometimes we like or not??

I work over all the major islands and I can tell you I have not yet find any gov’t. service that is NOT corrupt or not stealing right under my nose! Or at least try to do so even abusing the Law!!And to be very clear i think The Philippine Government in Manila makes big mistakes with all these "autonomous area's"!Do i love the ARMM? No! Do i like the idea of Bangsamoro Homeland? No! Do i like MNLF? No! And I don’t have to like them nor love them. But I well have to respect them as they are a given fact in our country. And I only ask you not to speak in hate or untrue facts as long you have not given any proof no matter from what side. Up till now I have seen more help and more cooperation activities from Muslim groups in many Christian projects, than in any other way.

So let us try to find some place in our hearts also for the "sinners" among us.......... HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN... merry Christmas and a blessed, healthy and wonderful 2008 to you and your beloved ones. Please walk in the Light and build on The ROCK!

Jamju Alano Rivera Dec. 25, 2007

You ask: "have you any proof, any written or spoken testifying or justification of all you write here?"Sir, I live in Basilan. I'm a resident of Isabela City...which means I am fortunate enough to live in a place that is not within the ARMM, but close enough to know what sorry things are happening on the other side of the fence. Our Congressman who just died from the bomb knew more than most of us what corruption meant...apparently schooled under the strict tutelage of his Ampatuan overlords.

You want proof? Look around you and you will see all the proof you will need staring back at your face...a stark reminder of corruption that is endemic and tolerated nationwide, but institutionalized and established in the ARMM! I'm not saying this out of hate. No! I'm saying this as a matter of fact.Just very recently, teachers from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and, yes, Basilan...met with Gov. Zaldy himself, in Zamboanga City...why? Most of these valiant teachers have not been given their salaries for the last...take this...EIGHT MONTHS!!! While everybody else OUTSIDE OF ARMM got theirs on time, these teachers got nothing! For eight long months. Ask GSIS...how much of what should have been remitted actually was...if any at all were! Check out the government-funded projects...if you can call them that! Or maybe the ARMM has done wondrously well enough to lift its population from abject poverty and into the welcoming arms of the struggling middle class? Has it? It has done nothing but PROMISE! Yes...the promise of the ARMM, much like the rest of ARMM is based on one humungous LIE. And need I reiterate the fact that among all the provinces of the Philippines, the ones most notorious for election-related transgressions are, by an exceptionally phenomenal margin, located within the borders of this ARMM. Can anyone...yes, even the COMELEC...contest these claims? You want more proof?

You also said: "Yes, the ARMM is far from perfect but, as you stated here yourself dear Jamju, corruption is endemic throughout the Philippines. Our beloved Government including Manila is even killing, murdering, abusing and more of these "fine" things as a rapport of the European Union bring out to the world. And about corruption, please Jamju.... "give me one name...ONE NAME...among them that isn't tainted with corruption"!!!! And how about you and me??? Are we not also, now and than, more or less, eating something from the same bread of corruption?? Sometimes we like or not?? I work over all the mayor islands and i can tell you i have not yet find any gov. service that is NOT corrupt or not stealing right under my nose! Or at least try to do so even abusing the Law!!

"Which is precisely what I mean, sir...the corruption is way too entrenched and too institutionalized that we have got to do something about it...not tolerate it...but really do something to solve it once and for all. Defeatism in this regard means we should all but surrender our hopes for a better future for our children. That, we cannot accept. The people, we believe, will always react to the kind of system that either allows or constricts them from doing certain things...be it benevolent or malfeasant. The system MUST BE CHANGED COMPLETELY. The system that is perpetuated by the ARMM, most especially, MUST BE DESTROYED! NOW! We do not believe that people are corrupt by nature...but a system that makes corruption "LEGAL" will inure even the most upright individual and "permit" certain acts of ignominy to be committed...as is the case in the ARMM!

You added: "And to be very clear I think The Philippine Government in Manila makes big mistakes with all these "autonomous area's"!Do I love the ARMM? No! Do I like the idea of Bangsamoro Homeland? No! Do I like MNLF? No! And I don’t have to like them nor love them. But I well have to respect them as they are a given fact in our country. And I only ask you not to speak in hate or untrue facts as long you have not given any proof no matter from what side."With this, we obviously agree tacitly...it is wrong to put up "autonomous areas" just as it is patently wrong to recognize rebel groups as though they were legal plenipotentiaries in an international conference of equally sovereign states! We do not believe that any of the negotiated treaties with the MNLF, MILF or whatever other name for a secessionist group they will come up with...would solve the question of PEACE FOR MINDANAO in its finality. These are stop-gap measures, band-aid diplomacy at best...which does not aim to solve the underlying problems...but only wishes to stave off the inevitable from happening at this time...for fear of what? An international backlash from, say, the OIC? The EU? The UN? So who died, anyway, and gave them the power to decide over the fate of 14 million Mindanaoans from the comfort of their armchairs in airconditioned conference halls several thousand miles away?

We believe that true PEACE FOR MINDANAO can only be made by the ones most affected by this decades-old conflict...doesn't matter if they're Muslim or Christian...for as long as they are FILIPINOS LIVING IN MINDANAO...!

You likewise said: "Up till now a have seen more help and more cooperation activities from Muslims(groups) in many (Christian) projects, than in any other way."Do you mean, by this claim...Christians have not been very cooperative and helpful with projects for Christians, and that Muslims are more ready to lend a hand in your endeavours? Or did I get it all wrong? Didn't quite get your stand here, sir...because, if this is your claim...then we applaud these Muslim groups for helping out. As we have been saying all along, it doesn't matter if it’s a Muslim or a Christian who does the job...what matters most is that THE JOB IS DONE! We never said that Mindanao's future lies in it's being Christian. No! Far from it...we have always contended that Mindanao should neither be Muslim nor Christian...it should, however, always BE FILIPINO! And there is definitely no way that anyone can convince us otherwise!

FInally, you said: "So let us try to find some place in our hearts also for the "sinners" among us.......... HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN... merry Christmas and a blessed, healthy and wonderful 2008 to you and your beloved ones. Please walk in the Light and build on The ROCK!"

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL! Merry Christmas to all Christians and Happy Hariraya to all Muslims! We do hope that 2008 brings about great changes not only in the way things are done around here...but that changes be felt from the heart of every FILIPINO, Muslim and Christian!

BUT...on whether we will ever be able to find a place in our hearts also for the "sinners" among us...or not? Sorry, we believe that this is simply OUT OF THE QUESTION.

We do not wish to be contrarian, and we applaud EF for taking the time to rebut our statements made here...but we do hope that readers would understand where we're coming from on this.

WE ADVOCATE:

(1) THE IMMEDIATE ABOLITION OF ARMM...AND THE NULLIFICATION OF ALL ACTS OF ARMM...

(2) THE NULLIFICATION OF ALL TREATIES WITH MINDANAO SECESSIONIST GROUPS...AND THE NON-RECOGNITION OF THE BANGSA MORO HOMELAND

(3) THE CESSION OF ALL "TALKS" WITH THESE ARMED GROUPS...

(4) THE FULL ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES AS LAID OUT IN OUR CONSTITUTION...AND THE FULL INTEGRATION OF ALL THE PEOPLES OF MINDANAO INTO FILIPINO SOCIETY...

Until these things are fully dealt with and implemented...MINDANAO WILL KNOW NO PEACE!!!

Tambo Lontok says on Dec. 31, 2007

Yes, from all that I've read about ARMM, corruption and nepotism are as bad as they are in the rest of the Philippines. It would be nice to have one united nation but I would not call it Pilipinas (after King Philip II), I'd call it Bansa Laya or something more native to our language. That's one.Secondly, Muslims in Mindanao have a separate history starting with the 14th Century arrival of Arab merchants and thus the spread of Islam in Mindanao. They and the native tribes made up the majority of the people of Mindanao until the early 20th Century when an exodus of Christian Filipinos settled in Mindanao.

Lastly, even if we wanted to have one united Mindanao, it is likely that Muslims will want to stick to their value system as Christians will want to stick to theirs.I want to see a secular Mindanao where autonomous regions will have a secular government because only such government can guarantee religious freedom to every single citizen of that autonomous region.As for corruption, the entire government, politicians and bureaucrats alike, from Aparri to Jolo , are corrupt except for a few. Whether Christians or Muslims , many are thieves and work only for their families and relatives instead of all their constituents.

I agree with you that the bloated and corrupt bureaucracy is a hindrance to sustainable development. It needs to be reduced by 50 percent -- AT LEAST.

Maxim says on Feb. 16, 2008

Dear Friends (EF, Jamju, Tambo):

I like the way you discuss the good and bad sides of ARMM, whether you talk about its political leaders and some followers, the dispensable bureaucratic layer i.e. the ARMM, and how corruption seems to be orchestrated from Manila down South.

Regardless of the amount of proofs there are, I believe that all that you said are true and correct. However, it was not by design that the ARMM shall have to be what it is today; I still believe in the good intentions of the people behind its creation. The ARMM was a by-product of legitimate negotiations entered into by and between the GRP and the MNLF witnessed and hailed by the OIC as a better option than a shooting war. It's a pity that it has fallen into the wrong hands - those of the circus puppets of the Manila government who not only tolerate everything but manipulate the way these puppets sway their hands and trample their feet.

We complain at the bitterness of the fruit but we forget that it just came from the poison tree. The fruit i.e. the ARMM and the poison tree i.e. Malacanang. Unless we cut the roots of this poison tree it will continue to bear bitter fruits. (Remember that GMA loves the Ampatuans so much because they were the only political clan that has delivered the 12-0 mandate from Malacanang; also made her sweep Maguindanao in the Presidential election!)

Rather than argue with each other, there is something better that we can do. I do not say, however, that all that you said ought not to be said at all. They were all very strikingly informative and plausibly awful facts!