Peace and Security Review, Vol.1 No. 2 - International Centre for ...

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66 Peace and Security Review Vol.1, No.2, Second Quarter, 2008 Corruption and Public Accountability The sitting President’s legitimacy remains a question after allegedly being caught on a “wiretap” speaking to an election commissioner of Mindanao in the 2004 Presidential elections. She won with a slim margin of little more than a million votes with almost half of it in ARMM. The Philippine government has difficulty proving its sincerity because of legitimacy issue. A report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) cited corruption as the major reason for the slow delivery of social services in the region, quoting Commission on Audit report which said that 294 infrastructure projects worth P49.54 Million (USD 1.98M) inspected, 213 were not implemented, 52 and this is only a fraction of billions of pesos given to ARMM. Economic Mismanagement ARMM is the poorest region in the country with more than half of its families classified as poor. Poverty incidences, according to the 2006 Official Poverty Statistics, reached 55.3 percent, a 9.9 percent increase from 2003’s 45.4 percent. Statistics showed that the incidence of poverty in the predominantly Muslim region is more than two times the national average of 26.9 percent. The high poverty incidence in the region can be attributed to the volatile peace and order situation because “the conflict has displaced many families.” 53 An average of USD 380 annual income means that people in ARMM subsist into a hand to mouth daily living on an average daily income of USD 1.5. 54 600 500 400 300 200 1997 2000 2003 2006 100 0 Basilan*h Maguindanao Sulu Tawi-tawi Figure 1: Annual Poverty Incidence 52 Marites D. Vitug. “Misauri faces Big headaches in ARMM”, accessed on www.pcij.org.ph. 53 abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, accessed: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx? StoryId=111303. 54 National Statistics Coordination Board: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/poverty/2006_05mar08/ table_2.asp. Vol.1, No.2 2008 pp.49-76
Taharudin Ampatuan Philippines’ Counter Insurgency and Terrorism 67 Peace and Order Problem The Philippine government and the MNLF signed a peace agreement in 1996, in which prospect of peace and economic development would finally be brought to ARMM. However, statistics shows an average of 30 percent decrease in annual per capita income from 1997 to 2006. This can be attributed to the governments all out war policy in the areas of Maguindanao (2000), Basilan (1998-2001). Castillo explained that alleviating poverty is difficult if you have so many displaced families. 55 Partly to be blamed is the absence of rule of law wherein clans and family feuds were settled through cycle of vendetta (Rido). There are 218 recorded rido from 1970 to 2004 and there might have been more since most ridos were not reported to the police. 56 As mentioned earlier in part 2, this conflict can largely be attributed to the unsettled differences between the traditional leaders and the armed group (MNLF and MILF), of which their supporters compete for supremacy and power in their areas of influence. The autonomous status given to the Muslim provinces has failed to improve the economy of Muslim Mindanao, in fact it has worsen. It is a lost opportunity due to un-sustained and inconsistent policy of government, ARMM dysfunctional governance and absence of rule of law, where guns and goons are un-checked. 500 400 300 200 2000 2003 2006 100 0 Basilan Lanao del Sur Maguindanao Sulu Tawi-tawi 2000 238 347 298 292 300 2003 275 343 308 337 293 2006 331 414 389 391 369 Figure 2: Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold in USD Given this scenario, it is hardly surprising that Moro youth ⎯ poor and jobless ⎯ decide to join militant outfits, such as the ASG and the MILF. 55 Ibid. 56 Abhoud Syed Linga, “Dynamics and Management of Rido in the province of Maguindanao,” cited in RIDO, W. Magno Torres III, (Manila: The Asia Foundation) Chapter 2. Vol.1, No.2 2008 pp.49-76
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