Muslim governors, civil workers ‘up in arms’ in Mindanao

SULU – Muslim governors have met here to plead with President Rodrigo Duterte to intervene and stop the collective layoff of civil workers in the Muslim autonomous region.

Employees of various agencies in the region have previously sought the help of Sulu Governor Sakur Tan after Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim started firing civil workers and hire new employees, mostly members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which he heads.

Those affected by Ebrahim’s order relayed their predicaments to Tan and appealed for his intercession by bring their concern to Duterte’s attention.

Now, the governors of Basilan, Jim Salliman; and Yshmael Sali of Tawi-Tawi, and Deputy Speaker and former regional governor Mujiv Hataman, have joined forces with Tan in appealing to the President to stop Ebrahim from “phasing out” all regional government employees.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan welcomes Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman and Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana at the Capitol December 19, 2019. (Zamboanga Post)

Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman gestures as he speaks during a forum in Sulu December 19, 2019 while Basilan Governor Jim Salliman and Sulu Governor Sakur Tan and other officials listen. (Zamboanga Post)

Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman and Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana in Sulu province to attend a forum December 19, 2019. (Zamboanga Post)

Tan said he and the other governors are not only concerned on the plight of the employees, but the effect this has on various agencies of the autonomous region. The governor said he cannot afford to remain deaf and blind when his constituents are placed in a difficult situation.

“The laws are sufficient enough to protect the rights of the people including the right to seek legal redress from the court,” he said after the employees raised the possibility of hiring labor lawyers to look into their concern and to exhaust all legal avenues available to stop Ebrahim from removing BARMM employees, especially those who were hired under the previous administration of Hataman.

The governors, along with Interior Undersecretary Alexander Macario, and senior military and police officials led by Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, of the Western Mindanao Command, flew to Sulu on Thursday and held a forum. 

Tan and other governors discussed Ebrahim’s order to layoff all employees. “We are going to bring this matter to the President. This is a complex problem now and it will affect our respective provinces in terms of the basic delivery of services to our constituents and the efficiency of the local governments,” he said.

Attorney-General Sha Elijah Alba, of the autonomous region, has announced that some 6,000 employees would be phased out before the year ends. At least 500 of them had already been removed since last month. Only those working in the sectors of education, health, and social services are exempted in the phasing out and those who are affected by the Ebrahim’s order cannot be re-employed in any BARMM agency.

Tan said he is ready to provide legal support to employees. “These poor employees are just exercising their rights under the Constitution and should be respected,” he said.

Municipal mayors were also present and also expected to sign a petition in support to the affected employees, who are also planning to bring their problems to the attention of the Civil Service Commission and the judicial courts.

While BARMM continues with the phasing-out of employees, Ebrahim hired hundreds of MILF members to work as forest rangers and would hire more for Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi provinces.

He even launched recently the so-called Integrated Bangsamoro Greening Program inside the sprawling MILF’s Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province.

Hataman also said that during his administration, he made sure that all provinces got equal infrastructure projects and funds for various development projects, but under Ebrahim’s rule the governors of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi have been complaining of not getting enough funds despite additional government money appropriated for the autonomous region. (Zamboanga Post)

Like Us on Facebook: The Mindanao Examiner
Like Us on Facebook: The Zamboanga Post
Follow Us on Twitter: Mindanao Examine
Mirror Site: Mindanao Examiner Blog
Digital Archives: Mindanao Examiner Digital
Media Rates: Advertising Rates