MANILA — Anak Mindanao (AMIN) Partylist Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman on Monday announced her resignation from her post in the House of Representatives.
In a privilege speech during a plenary session, Turabin-Hataman said she intends to go back to her “home” and “her people” not as a congresswoman, but “as one of them.”
“This was no easy decision, and perhaps the craziest I’ve done so far. But those who knew me, and knew my soul, have long suspected I was longing to be back home,” Turabin-Hataman said.
Her post will be assumed by AMIN Partylist’s third nominee, Amihilda Sangcopan, who was Anak Mindanao sa Kongreso’s chief of staff from the 12th to 14th Congress.
Turabin-Hataman, who is one of the co-authors of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), called on her colleagues for the passage of the BBL.
“I leave appealing to your compassion and discernment, with hope in our leaders, and faith in the President to make true his vow to pass the BBL. I appeal to you, we may be a little too late, as we all know now, but please let us not miss this opportunity, probably the last, to win back our people,” she said.
“As I go back, may this be a gift I can offer them from you, not a gift as a token of benevolence, but a gift we so truly deserve, not just from the House of Representatives, not just from this administration, but form the Filipino people,” she added.
Turabin-Hataman served as the Executive Director of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos in 2010 and became AMIN’s representative in the 16th and 17th Congress. (PNA)