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Unless postponed by the powers that be, the elections for the
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be held on August
11, 2008. Residents of ARMM will once again choose individuals to
govern them as regional governor, regional vice governor and members
of the Regional Legislative Asembly (RLA). ARMM covers Tawi-Tawi,
Sulu, Basilan, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabungsuan, Lanao del Sur and
Marawi City.
The elections will be held against the backdrop
of the unflattering reputation of the region as the show window of
graft and corruption, and dubbed as the “cheating capital of the
Philippines.” Will the elections prove this reputation wrong and
result in the election of candidates who will truly serve the
interests of the Muslims in ARMM? Or will the elections simply
validate the notoriety of ARMM elections in subverting the will of
the people?
The right Muslim leader
The previous ARMM administrations were headed by
lawyers, by a state university professor, by a doctor of medicine
and by an educated warlord. All arguably won the seat of governance
as regional governors because they were the anointed candidates of the
administration.
As Muslims troop to the polls, we ask this
important question: Who is the most qualified Muslim leader to lead
ARMM as regional governor for the next three years?
To the Muslim faithful, the answer is really
very simple! He should be one imbued with the qualities of a leader
according to Islam, in deed and in spirit. Yusop Tan!
Who is Yusop Tan?
Yusop Tan was a native of Jolo, Sulu. An
educator all his life, he was the administrator of the defunct
Philippine Muslim College in the ’60s and ’70s; college
instructor of Notre Dame of Jolo in the ’80s; and the
administrator of Southern Mindanao Islamic Institute until his
demise in the 1990s. He was also Mayor of Jolo from 1952 to 1956.
As Jolo mayor, he served with devotion and
honesty. Many stories abound about his moral fortitude. One time,
arriving home from his office for lunch, he was surprised to see a
new sofa set in his living room. When informed by his wife that it
was a gift from one Chinese storeowner, he had it returned that same
afternoon.
On another occasion, an elderly man visited his
office asking for a janitorial job for his son so he could help
their family’s impoverished condition. Mayor Tan, seeing the
weariness of the elderly man, told him to let his son report to the
Mayor’s office. The next day, the same man visited the mayor at
his house bringing live chickens as presents. Mayor Tan told the
elderly man that he must be far richer than the mayor since he could
afford to give presents while the Mayor couldn’t. He instructed
the elderly man to take back his chickens and to tell his son not to
report to the Mayor’s office anymore.
The good mayor, pressured by the lure of wealth
through graft and corruption, and exasperated by his kin’s clamor
for a good life, resigned from his post with a vow never to return
to politics—probably a first in the political history of the
Philippines.
These coming elections, amidst the many promises
of candidates seeking office, Muslims must search their conscience
and their hearts. As the Glorious Qur’an invokes in Verse 188 of
SurahBaqarra (on graft and corruption),”Do not misappropriate one
another’s property unjustly, nor bribe the judge, in order to
misappropriate a part of other people’s property, sinfully and
knowingly” and in the Hadith, “Any man upon whom Allah has given
the authority of ruling [a community of people] and does not look
after their welfare and does not deal with them justly will never
feel even the smell of paradise.” Perhaps the noble Yusop Tan (Allah
bless his soul) had imbedded in his mind such Qur’anic verses and
Hadiths, and acted on them all through his life.
Amidst the war, poverty and corruption, this is
exactly what the ARMM regional government needs-another Yusop Tan!
Babylyn Omar-Kano is the president of the
Electoral Reform Advocate in Tawi-Tawi and is the station manager of
DXGD-AM. She is also the provincial coordinator of the election
watchdog PPCRV.
Editor’s Notes:
(1)The Supreme Court recently declared that the
creation of Shariff Kabunsuan Province is void. Sema v. Comelec, GR
No. 177597, July 16, 2008. (2) President Gloria Arroyo has announced
that she is supporting calls for the postponement of the ARMM
elections. Her press secretary said a bill seeking to postpone the
regional elections is poised to be filed when Congress resumes
session on July 28.
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