Interior Sec Robredo says admin pols dominate ARMM polls
MANILA, Philippines—The only politicians who have ever won elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were fielded by the administration, Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo said Tuesday, as he pushed anew for the postponement of the ARMM elections scheduled in August.
“No one has ever won at ARMM who was not the candidate of the administration,” Robredo told a news conference on Tuesday.
Robredo said his office sought to radically change the status quo in that region by instituting electoral reforms, cleansing voter lists, and dismantling private armed groups in Mindanao.
“We want to give true relevance to the ARMM. The answer is proper and honest governance,” he said, adding that the way to do this involved removing private armies from the picture and engaging civil society, and convincing them to take part in the region’s politics.
Robredo said pushing through with the elections at this time would hinder the Department of Interior and Local Government in making the ARMM truly autonomous.
“The ARMM was established so there would be a Mindanao republic, and many thought this was the solution, but this did not happen, because the government was not able to change the way of life within ARMM,” Robredo said.
Speaking at the Communications and Exchange Forum sponsored by the Philippine Information Agency and the Presidential Communications Operations Office, Robredo said dismantling private armies would allow citizens to freely cast their votes and choose their leaders.
“The people of ARMM should be the ones to benefit from elections,” he said.
He said the DILG has broken up 30-40 private armies in the ARMM and is trying to dismantle another 40 before the elections.
“We need to dismantle all these private armed groups in time for the 2013 elections so that they can’t unduly influence the voting,” Robredo said.
He said he wanted synchronized elections in May 2013 as it would prevent ruling powers in Mindanao politics from controlling election outcomes.
