Central Mindanao leaders welcome lifting of ‘1017’

COTABATO CITY — Leaders in Central Mindanao lauded President Arroyo for lifting Proclamation 1017, a move they said is proof that she is not a dictator but someone who adheres to the principles of democracy in furthering the country’s political stability.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, a member of the administration party Lakas-Christian, Muslim Democrats, said the lifting of Proclamation 1017 will also project to the international donor community, which has various humanitarian projects in his region, that the Arroyo administration can efficiently address the country’s problems.

"It will prove to the international community that on the contrary, we have a President who is not a dictator as what some sectors unduly project (her to be)," he said.

Ampatuan, who has been reaching out to foreign donors since he took over as ARMM governor last Sept. 30, said Mrs. Arroyo’s political will in resolving problems besetting her administration will project the stability and safety of various foreign-funded, socio-economic projects in the autonomous region.

Ustadz Farid Solaiman, grand preacher in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, said the religious community in the province is also elated about the lifting of Proclamation 1017.

"Now preachers who feared that Proclamation 1017 was tantamount to declaring martial law can tell worshippers in mosques that it was not (such) after all," Solaiman told The STAR.

Hadji Haron Bandila, chairman of the ARMM’s Regional Business Council, said the lifting of Proclamation 1017 could also be a springboard for their efforts to show improvements in the region’s business climate.

"We can tell our contacts abroad that we have a strong national leadership that uses emergency powers with extreme caution and prudence, thus it is safe to invest in the ARMM and elsewhere in the country," Bandila said. — John Unson