New Basilan governor lays stringent freedom of information policy

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The newly-elected governor of Basilan has banned any mention of his name and depiction of his image on tarpaulins with printed details about government infrastructure projects in the province, setting precedent, first ever, in the Bangsamoro region.

Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who was congressional representative of Basilan prior to his election as provincial governor during the May 12 nationwide electoral exercise, also signed, after his inaugural assumption to office on Monday morning, June 30, a directive for all local executives in the province and employees of the provincial government to abide with the “Freedom of Information Policy” his administration shall impose throughout the province.

Hataman explained, in a message during Monday’s symbolic event at their provincial capitol in Santa Clara in Lamitan City, that his FOI policy is meant to ensure transparency in all activities of all government units in Basilan, including his office.

“This will be the fulcrum of our governance in the province, meant to ensure utmost transparency in all transactions involving funds. Details of how we are handling funds should be transparent to all. We want a clean, transparent manner of handling government funds,” Hataman then said in Filipino.

Hataman also said then that he would not allow the display of tarpaulins with printed details about infrastructure projects in the province showing his image.

Hataman had served as regional governor of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for two consecutive terms before he was elected congressional representative of Basilan in 2019.

He resigned as regional governor in March 2019 of the then 27-year ARMM to pave the way for its replacement with a more administratively empowered Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, a product of 22 years of peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The now five-year BARMM government is being managed together by officials of the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front. Both fronts have separate peace agreements with the national government.