PNoy eyes appointment of ARMM OICs before US, Japan trips

The temporary officers who will govern the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) until 2013 may be appointed this month. At a press briefing after attending an event in Bais City, Negros Oriental, President Benigno Aquino III said he wants to make the appointments before he pushes for the US and Japan later this month for official visits. “I want that done as soon as possible. Kung kayang i-target before I leave for both America and Japan, the better," the President said. He said the sooner he will be able to appoint the officers in charge (OICs), the better as it would fast-track the reforms he wants to be implemented in ARMM. “The sooner na mailagay natin sa gobernador, at iyong vice governor at saka iyong Regional Assembly na talagang babaguhin iyong nakaugalian na kalakaran ay mas mapapaganda ang sitwasyon natin sa ARMM na mas maaga. Iyon ang target po natin," he said. Aquino said all the applicants for the post of governor, vice governor and members of regional legislative assembly will be given a fair hearing, although he admitted that he has yet to meet with the screening committee under Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo. “I will have to meet with the search committee. Ang daming names. And we want to give everybody a fair hearing," he said. A total of 51 applicants, including Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu, are aspiring to become OIC governor of ARMM. Mangudadatu lost his wife and two sisters in the infamous Nov. 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre. A total of 17 applicants, meanwhile, vied for the temporary vice-governor position, while 272 applied for membership in the Regional Legislative Assembly. The screening committee will come up with a short list of qualified applicants from all those who applied. The list will be submitted to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who will submit their respective recommendations for Aquino’s approval. Other members of the screening committee are Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas, a civil society representative and a representative of ARMM local government units. The membership and functions of the screening committee are stipulated in Executive Order 51 issued by Aquino in July. Last June, Aquino signed Republic Act 10153 postponing the ARMM election this year and synchronizing it with the 2013 midterm elections. — KBK, GMA News