COTABATO CITY — Sanctions will be imposed on non-performing local government executives in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, particularly on the aspect of absentism.
ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman gave the warning following a directive issued by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, concurrent Martial Law administrator in Mindanao, which orders the closer monitoring of local chief executives in Mindanao, including those from ARMM.
The order was specified in Martial Law Instruction No. 1 that Lorenzana issued on Monday, January 8.
“The absence of local chief executives, in some cases, results in the total failure in the delivery of vital basic services to their constituents,” Lorenzana said in his order.
He added that the situation presents a very serious concern as the lack of basic services leads to a general dissatisfaction with government, which has been determined to be one of the leading causes for individuals to join rebel or extremist groups.
Hataman said Lorenzana’s order will help determine who among the local chief executives are not performing their mandate to their respective constituents due to absenteeism.
“As elected government officials, they (mayors) should be in their offices,” he said in a press briefing here Thursday. Martial law in Mindanao, first declared on May 23 last year after fighting erupted in Marawi City, was extended for the entirety of 2018 after military and police intelligence sources claimed that extremist groups were still recruiting new members in various parts of Mindanao.
Lorenzana’s instructions also noted that the military, the police, and other law enforcement agencies should assist the ARMM governor and provincial chief executives in the monitoring of local government executives’ presence in their areas.
“At the end of each month, regular compliance and evaluation reports are to be consolidated at the provincial level and submitted to the Office of the Martial Law Administrator,” the instruction letter noted.
Lawyer Noor Hafizullah Abdullah, ARMM’s interior secretary, said copies of the order would be forwarded soonest to mayors in the component areas of the region comprising the cities of Marawi and Lamitan, and the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Basilan, and Lanao del Sur. (Noel Punzalan/PNA)
