President Aquino welcomes House passage of HB 4146

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Mar. 24 (PIA) – President Benigno Aquino III welcomed the approval by the House of Congress of a bill postponing the August 2011 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to May 2013.

House Bill 4146 provides for the synchronization of the ARMM polls with the national and local elections in 2013 and the appointment by the President of officers-in-charge during the interim period.

In a press conference held at Mallberry Suites Business Hotel here, the President said he expects an intense debate on the merits of HB 4146 in the Senate but his administration would remain persistent in pushing for the postponement of the elections.

He said synchronization would eliminate “command votes” and would lead to clearer mandate by the people in the autonomous region.

Likewise, the “command votes” resulted to the underdevelopment of the region citing that the region has been continuously plagued with kidnappings, robberies and other problems arising from absence of peace and order due to underdevelopment.

Adding the consistent ranking of ARMM as the highest in terms of maternal and infant mortality rates, the President thus stressed the need for intervention of the national government to make way for reforms in the autonomous region. (Apipa Bagumbaran/PIA-10 Marawi)