Hataman says he won’t mind losing Deputy Speaker title over critical comments

MANILA, Philippines — Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman won’t mind losing his title as House Deputy Speaker over his statements that run contrary to some of the measures being pushed by the Duterte administration.

Asked over an ABS-CBN News Channel interview on Wednesday if his position as House Deputy Speaker has been jeopardized by his opinions against legislations being espoused by the administration, Hataman said: “Well, actually, wala tayong magawa. Iyon ang position natin (we can’t do anything. That’s my position).”

Pressed if there are indications that he might be “on his way out” as Deputy Speaker because of his pronouncements, he said: “Well pagbalik ko (when I come back), I will talk with the Speaker kung ano ang policy nila (to ask about their policy).”

“Well ako, kahit ano. Ang importante naman sa akin ay ang paninindigan ko. Hindi naman mahalaga sa akin kung ano ‘yung title ko,” he further said.

(Well, I can settle with anything. What’s important for me is my stand. My title is not important to me.)

Hataman had voted against the passage of the highly-controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which he said is not meant to fight terrorism but to give the state the power to tag as terrorists whoever it wants.

Hataman, a former governor of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), also recently made comments on social media about Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

A day after the SONA, Hataman said he hopes the Marawi rehabilitation will also be given a deadline just like how Duterte warned telecommunication companies Globe and Smart of expropriation if they will not improve their services by yearend.

Sana binigyan na rin ng taning ang Marawi rehab katulad ng pagbibigay ng taning sa Smart and Globe.

— Congressman Mujiv Hataman (@mujivhataman) July 28, 2020

He added that the government should prioritize the compensation bill for Marawi before pushing for the death penalty, which was also mentioned by Duterte in his SONA. The President said he wants capital punishment through lethal injection “for crimes specified under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.”

Sana unahin na muna natin ang Compensation Bill ng Marawi bago ang death penalty.#SONA2020

— Congressman Mujiv Hataman (@mujivhataman) July 28, 2020

Hataman was also one of the 11 members of the lower house who voted to grant embattled media giant ABS-CBN a new franchise.

“Mahirap naman ‘yun. Isipin mo, 11,000 [employees]. Naalala ko nga noong natanggal ‘yung 5,000 na workers sa ARMM noong nag-transform from ARMM to BARMM, ang daming nag-iyakan. Naisip ko lang ‘yung mga ordinaryong manggagawa sa loob ng ABS-CBN,” he said.

(That was hard. Consider the 11,000 employees. I remember when the 5,000 workers in ARMM were removed when the region transformed into Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, a lot of them cried. I just thought about the ordinary workers of ABS-CBN.)

“Sana nga lang kung napagbigyan ng isang taon, dalawang taon para makahanap na muna sila ng trabaho nila, magkaroon ng transition. Mas ‘yun ‘yung nagdala sa akin sa pagboto sa retention ng ABS-CBN,” he added.

(I hope they were given a year or two so that they can find other jobs and they can have a transition. That was what motivated me to vote for the retention of ABS-CBN.)

When asked about some House lawmakers seeking to investigate issues that surfaced during the deliberations on the franchise application, Hataman acknowledged that while the Congress is obliged to investigate the supposed violations of businesses, he said the government should now focus on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“Sa totoo lang, hindi biro ang krisis na ito, baka masayang lang ang panahon natin sa pagharap diyan, imbes na mag-isip tayo ng mga paraan na masolusyunan ‘yung problema na kinakaharap ng bansa dulot ng pandemya, kung paano magkaroon ng trabaho,” he said.

(In reality, this crisis is not a joke. Our time might be wasted in dealing with such investigations, instead of thinking of ways to provide solutions to the problems caused by the pandemic and how to provide jobs.)

“Baka pwedeng ang lahat ng lider ng ating bansa, katulad ng sinabi ng ating Pangulo, magsama-sama muna tayo. Kung mayroong galit ang bawat isa, at kung may galit ang ilang kongresista sa mga Lopezes, okay lang ‘yun. Dapat lang mag-imbestiga sila. Pero tingin ko hindi ‘yun ang dapat bigyan ng prayoridad at this point in time,” he also said.

(Maybe like what the President said, leaders in the country should unite now. If we have resentments against each other, if the congressmen have grudges against the Lopezes, that’s okay. They should investigate. But I think that’s now what we should prioritize at this time.)

The House of Representatives has 22 Deputy Speakers in the 18th Congress.

/MUF