Press Release
December 15, 2009

REDEEM THE PROMISE TO MUSLIM MINDANAO - ANGARA

Three days after the lifting of Martial Law in Maguindanao, Senator Edgardo J. Angara reminded the country's leaders that equally important as shortening martial rule - in addition to cleaning up the murder syndicate and disarming the private armies of political clans - is improving the quality of life of the thousands of impoverished families in Maguindanao.

"The Maguindanao episode provides an occasion for effecting reform to a feudal and backward political system. We must redeem the promise to Muslim Mindanao ten years ago when we granted them autonomy: that of progress and prosperity at par with the rest of the country," said Angara.

He lamented that "in the debate surrounding the declaration and subsequent lifting of Martial Law in Maguindanao, one fact is often overlooked: the problem of Mindanao is not merely political. It is at the same time deeply socio-economic in nature."

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is one of, if not the poorest region in the Philippines. Maguindanao, one of the ARMM's five provinces and the site of the recent massacre, is the third poorest province in the country.

"The infant and maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the country. Its Human Development Index - meaning, life expectancy, overall health and nutrition, literacy, pupil-classroom ratio and pupil-teacher ratio - is scandalously low. Basic infrastructure is appalling, as shown by the inadequate number of elementary and high schools, hospitals, ports and airports," he said.

The ARMM is home to 4.1 million Filipinos. Its per capita gross regional domestic product in 2005 was only PhP3,433, which is 75.8 percent lower than the national average of PhP14,186. Poverty incidence in the region is a high 45.4 percent in 2003, almost twice the national average of 24.4 percent.

"These extremely poor socio-economic conditions are the backdrop against which the people of Maguindanao also suffer the age-old problem of warring political clans, an acute lawlessness, and, as we have witnessed recently, a gruesome crime committed in the name of politics," he said.

Angara said it is likewise crucial to fully restore civil rule. The Constitution mandates that martial law "does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or legislative assemblies..."

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