Hatamanand 'It's time to heal

COTABATO CITY - Exactlya month after the national elections, re-elected Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said it’s time to heal and mend fences of political divide.Speaking in a simulcast weekend ARMM radio program, Hataman said the region’s constituents have been past divisive politics of mudslinging, and that it was time to move on for a continuing change.Hataman said ARMM’s majority Moro constituents needed genuine delivery of government services, having been into decades of displacement due to armed conflict. Hindi na 'to panahon ng bangayan, panahon na to para sa tuloy-tuloy na pagbabago at kinakailangan maiparating sa bawat mamamayan ng ARMM ang totoong serbisyo ng gobyerno (We are past the time of political discord. This is now the time to move forward for sustainable reforms, and we need to deliver the government services to each ARMM constituent), Hataman said. The ARMM governor was heard over Aksyon ARMM, a program hosted by ARMM development officer Irene Fernandez-Gonzales for the Catholic-run dxMS, and which is hooked-up every Saturdaywith Mindanao Broadcasting Network's dxMY, and affiliatecommunity stationsof the government's Radio ng Bayan in Central and Western Mindanao. Hataman and re-elected ARMM Vice-Governor Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman Jr. emerged victorious in the last elections as members of Liberal Party, under President Benigno Aquino III, and its defeated Presidential bet, former Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas.Still, Hataman hinted that in terms of working collaboration for the people, the ARMM’s development agenda, abbreviated as HELPS for Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Synergy, suited and was reconcilable with the incoming administration’s Eight-Point Agenda.The economic team of incoming President Duterte has enumerated the new administration’s Eight-Point Agenda asand 1) Tax and Revenue Reforms 2) accelerated spending on infrastructure program taking into consideration certain priorities 3) enhanced investment and economic competitiveness of doing business in the country 4) support services to small farmers for increased productivity and improved market access strengthened irrigation and better support services to farmers promotion of ecotourism in the rural areas 5) address bottlenecks in land administration and management system 6) strengthened basic education system, and provide scholarships for tertiary education, which are relevant to private employers' needs 7) improved tax system by indexing tax collection to inflation rate, to enable those who earn a little to have more in their pockets 8) and Expand and improve implementation of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. Nash B. Maulana