Local officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) warned Thursday that the Supreme Court (SC) decision voiding the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan province by the regional legislature would cause leadership problem and unemployment in the province.

According to local officials interviewed by abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak, the tribunal’s decision will cause some of the elected officials and government employees in Shariff Kabunsuan to lose their jobs since the province will be reverted to Maguindanao, its mother province.

The High Tribunal, voting 8-6, voided a law enacted by the ARMM’s lawmaking body --the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA)-- in August 2006 that established Shariff Kabunsuan. It nullified Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201, which created the province by carving out eight municipalities from the first legislative district of Maguindanao and was ratified in a plebiscite in October 2006.

The SC argued that since the creation of provinces and cities require the creation of legislative districts, and only Congress—not regional and local bodies—can create or reapportion legislative districts—the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan province by the RLA was against the Constitution.

The resolution reduces the number of provinces in ARMM to five. ARMM is composed of Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Basilan (excluding Isabela City) and the city of Marawi .

‘Declare gov seat vacant’

Local officials said the ruling raises leadership issues in the province since there is uncertainty about what will happen to local elected provincial officials in Shariff Kabunsuan when it is reverted to Maguindanao. Among the proclaimed winners in the last year’s local election are two board members and the vice governor.

"What will happen to the elected governor, vice governor, and board members?" former Sultan Kudarat mayor and 2007 Shariff Kabunsuan gubernatorial candidate Tucao Mastura told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak?

"We cannot afford to be under a governor not elected by the people of Shariff Kabunsuan," he said, adding that the ruling renders moot the current conflict between him and former Maguindanao vice governor Bimbo Sinsuat, his rival in the gubernatorial election.

Rep. Didagen Dilangalen of Shariff Kabunsuan, meanwhile, said there is a need to declare vacant the position of governor, vice-governor, and board members in new Maguindanao province.

"There is no election held for the purpose of electing officials in the undivided Maguindanao," he told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak. "The election held there (Maguindanao) is an exercise in futility."

Good only for Maguindanao?

Other officials in the region said that the ruling will likely be welcomed by Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan because it reverts to the old province two crucial sources of income covered by Shariff Kabunsuan—the seaport, which is located in Parang town, and the airport in Datu Odin Sinsuat.

But it will adversely affect the delivery of services to towns currently covered by Shariff Kabunsuan province, a military source assigned to the area told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak.

Ampatuan is unable to go to most of the towns covered by the aborted province because the area is dominated by his political foes, the source pointed out.

The governor does not even frequent Cotabato City, the source said. "When he goes to Manila, he flies via the General Santos or Davao City airports" even though these airports are several hours away from his hometown, Shariff Aguak. During the few times when he does visit Cotabato City, he is usually accompanied by a lot of armed guards.

Legal matter

Shariff Kabunsuan Vice Governor Ibrahim Ibay said that among those severely affected by the decision are the more than 400 government employees in his province, half of which used to work in the old Maguindanao provincial government. "What will happen to them?"

Ibay, who is also the acting governor, said they were saddened by the Supreme Court decision. "We dreamed for a separate province and now it is voided."

A regional lawmaker, meanwhile, told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak that the ruling will have little effect on the peace and order situation of the region.

"It is a legal matter," said RLA Assemblywoman Rajam Akbar, chair of the committee on local government.

Different voting technologies

The ruling, however, may affect the conduct of automated election in the region to be held in August.

Steve Rood, country representative of The Asia Foundation, said that Shariff Kabunsuan and Maguindanao are expected to use different kinds of machine for the elections.

Maguindanao will use a direct recording electronic technology that uses a touch-screen technology for voting. Shariff Kabunsuan, along with other ARMM provinces, will use optical mark reader technology, which will require voters to use a paper-based ballot to be fed to a machine.

The Comelec, Rood said, must decide which of the two technologies will be used in the merged province.

Congress’s fault

Akbar, meanwhile, defended RLA’s enactment of the law creating Shariff Kabunsuan. "It’s not the fault of the RLA because we are just doing our job. The law gave us the power to create, abolish, or merge local government units (LGUs), and we did not create that law."

She told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak that Congress should have seen this scenario before they passed the Expanded ARMM Law that gives the RLA the power to create new LGUs. "Parang pinaglaruan lang kami (They played a joke on us)."

The court ruling also declared unconstitutional the provision in Republic Act 9054 or the Expanded ARMM Law that gives the RLA the power to create new provinces and cities in the region. However, it did not pass upon the constitutionality of the RLA creating municipalities and barangays.

"The creation of such municipalities and barangays does not involve the creation of legislative district," the ruling reads.

LGUs in the ARMM increased dramatically in recent years. Aside from Shariff Kabunsuan, 12 municipalities and nine barangays have been created by the RLA since December 2005 despite their economic non-viability.

Good sign

Alex Brillantes, dean of the UP National College of Public Administration, told abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak that the ruling is a good sign, especially now that there is a growing trend in fragmentating LGUs even outside the ARMM. He added that LGUs should be created to ensure delivery of basic services and not for political expediency or to lengthen politicians' grip on power.

He added that instead of fragmentating LGUs, there is a need for amalgamation because fragmentation is expensive since it entails more administrative costs. "Government officials should be circumspect before creating LGUs."-- with reports from Gemma Bagayaua (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

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