Find right ARMM leader, Aquino urged

A nongovernment organization on Sunday lauded President Aquino and members of the House of Representatives and the Senate for the postponement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections and called on them for support in finding the right people to effect change in the region.

Janaree “Jan-Jan” Disomimba, convenor of Ipad (I am for Peace And Development in Mindanao) and former of mayor of Tamparan, Lanao del Sur, said an election at this time was not the solution to the problems in the ARMM as it did not “reflect the will of the people,” citing the Maguindanao massacre as one of the factors that subverted that will.

Having been a former public servant, Disomimba said she knew how elections were conducted in Mindanao and what its citizenry needed—nonconventional leaders “who have the political will” to enforce the rule of law.

“We have to help the President find the right person,” Disomimba said at the weekly Balitaan sa Tinapayan media forum in Sampaloc, Manila, on Saturday.

Although her group would meet obstacles along the way, she said she was hopeful the “reform agenda of the President for the ARMM” would not be compromised.

In a letter of appeal to the selection committee, Ipad said Mr. Aquino’s choice of leaders for ARMM would reflect the sincerity of his administration in carrying out “good governance, transparency and accountability” in line with his call to follow the “tuwid na daan” (straight path).