ARMM vice governor seeks understanding over reelection bid

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Reelectionist Vice Gov. Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday urged Lanao del Sur residents to understand why he did not respond to their calls for him to aspire for the congressional seat in the second district of the province.

“I have been receiving text messages and emails telling me that they were saddened by my decision to aspire for a second term as ARMM vice governor instead of eyeing for the congressional seat in the second district of Lanao del Sur. There was a deep reason for that change in ambition,” he said.

Lucman, who was running mate of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman during the May 13, 2013 regional polls, is a scion of an influential Maranaw royal clan in Bayang, a vote-rich town in Lanao del Sur.

Lucman and Hataman, both members of the Liberal Party (LP), filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) for the same positions last October 15 at the regional office in Cotabato City of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Lucman said it is for his support to the bilateral peace efforts of President Benigno Aquino III and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that he decided to seek reelection rather than aim for one of the two congressional seats in Lanao del Sur.

“I want to be reelected because I am also ready to step down and facilitate a transition from the ARMM government to a new Bangsamoro political entity which Malacañang and the MILF is trying to jointly put up,” Lucman said.

He said he does not doubt the sincerity of Hataman to abide by his promise to also vacate the ARMM’s gubernatorial post to pave the way for the setting up of an MILF-led Bangsamoro entity as soon Congress approves the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The BBL, jointly drafted by representatives from the government and the MILF as part of Malacañang’s peace deal with the rebel group, is the enabling measure for the ARMM’s replacement with a more politically and administratively empowered Bangsamoro political entity.

“At this early I can already see a problem recalcitrant elected regional officials might possibly cause if the time for a transition comes. With Gov. Hataman and me, there will never be any such problem,” Lucman said.

“We also cannot say no to President Benigno Aquino III, who wants me and Gov. Hataman, both ready to sacrifice for the sake of peace, to be at the helm of the ARMM government while waiting for the passage of the BBL,” he added.

Lucman’s father, the late Lanao del Sur Congressman Rashid Lucman, was an opposition lawmaker from the 1960s up to the time when then President Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under martial rule.

The older Lucman was forced to seek political asylum in the Middle East to escape persecution by Marcos, who caught his ire for his involvement in what were then pioneering Moro secessionist movements. He continued supporting the Moro uprising in the 1970s even while abroad just the same.

The reelectionist ARMM vice governor said there is no truth to insinuations by some quarters in Lanao del Sur that he balked from running for congressman after having been prodded by Maranaw clan elders to give way to the candidacy of a relative for the same post.

“There was no `horse trading’ whatsoever. It was for love of peace in Mindanao that I decided to seek a second term as ARMM vice governor,” he said.

Lucman also emphasized that the governor of Lanao del Sur, Mamintal Adiong Jr., and his constituent-mayors support the candidacy of Hataman.

Hataman’s bid for a second term is being contested by another LP member, Sulu Vice Gov. Sakur Tan, who filed his COC without any permission from the party.