MANILA, Philippines—Leave the Mindanao Muslims alone!
This is essentially the message from Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing who cautioned his colleagues against pushing for the postponement of the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) scheduled for August this year.
Bagatsing said he saw no need to synchronize the ARMM elections with the 2013 elections as proposed in House Bill 4146.
“Even if we concede that ARMM is a ‘failed experiment’ as claimed by those calling for poll deferment, the solution is not to deprive Muslim Filipinos of their only weapon for peaceful change, which is to cast their votes for those they want to be their leaders.”
Bagatsing said that the ballot must be respected and upheld. “If we do not want the bullet to rule again in Muslim Mindanao, we should learn our lessons from history and should not repeat the mistakes of the past,” he stressed.
He said that postponing the elections would subvert the autonomous nature of ARMM.
“The proponents of poll postponement and the appointment of officers-in-charge for ARMM betray a lack of understanding of the idea behind the creation of the regional government,” Bagatsing said.
“Autonomy means self-rule. How can there be self-rule when the national government in Manila insists on who should govern Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao?” Bagatsing asked.
Bagatsing pointed out that the ARMM has been the embodiment of the right to self-determination of Muslim Filipinos, hence, the national government should give them the widest leeway in governing themselves.
“Regular elections are a prime feature of a democratic system. Take away the right of the people to elect their own leaders and we have a dictatorship, not a democracy,” Bagatsing said.
“The ARRM is the product of the blood, sweat and tears of Muslim Filipinos who took up arms in the early 70s to assert their right to self-determination. We in Manila should therefore refrain from dictating on ARMM,” he said.
Bagatsing also said that most of the congressmen in ARMM were against postponement and their will must be respected by those who do not belong to this region.
“If the duly-elected representatives of the people in ARMM are opposed to postponement, certainly Manila should listen to them and take their sentiments into account,” he said.