Cites SC ruling

THE assumption into office of the new set of officials of the newly-created Maguindanao del Norte (MDN) is in accordance with the provision of Republic Act (RA) No. 55110, the law which divided Maguindanao into two provinces.

Veteran election lawyer Manuelito Luna on Tuesday pointed out that the appointment of Maguindanao del Norte Acting Governor Bai Fatima Ainee Sinsuat, Acting Vice Governor Datu Sharifudin Tyucao Mastura, and the members of the provincial board were clearly spelled under Section 50 of RA 55110, also known as the “Charter of the Provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur.”

“Under Section 50 of the Plebiscite Law (RA 11550), in relation to Chapter 5, Sec., 16 of the Administrative Code of 1987, the incumbent vice governor and the highest ranking member of the first provincial district [of Maguindanao] shall be the governor-designate and vice governor-designate, respectively, of Maguindanao del Norte which, in this case, are Bai Ainee Sinsuat and Datu DShjarifudin Tucao Mastura,” Luna said.

“Their (Sinsuat and Mastura) being residents of municipalities constituting the new province of Maguindanao del Norte also support their designations under the Plebiscite law,” he added.

Luna made the clarification amid questions that the assumption of Sinsuat as governor was not following the intent of RA 11550 because the plebiscite for the ratification of the division of Maguindanao was not before the May 9, 2022 elections.

Luna pointed out that “RA 11550, Article IX, Transitory and Final Provisions, Section 50 paragraph (A), specifically states that the vice governor and the next ranking elective member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the present Province of Maguindanao, who are residents of the new Maguindanao del Norte shall assume as its acting governor and acting vice governor, respectively and both shall continue to serve in office until their successor shall have been elected and qualified.”

He explained that the intent of the law and its interpretation remains the same even as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) moves the plebiscite to September 17, 2022, or four months after the 2022 national and local elections.

Comelec, he stressed, has the authority to postpone the conduct of the plebiscite.

The Comelec postponed the Maguindanao plebiscite on September 17, 2022 to enable it to concentrate its preparations on the May 9, 2022 national and local elections.

The Comelec, in a resolution dated Aug. 18, 2021, said that the Supreme Court (SC), in a 2019 ruling, upheld its power to “defer conduct of all plebiscite so as to enable it to focus all its attention and concentrate all its manpower and other resources on this preparation for the said elections.”

Based on that SC ruling, Luna said, “the postponement of the Maguindanao plebiscite after the May 9, 2022 elections did not change the intent of the law with respect to the assumption of Sinsuat as acting governor of Maguindanao del Norte.”

Pursuant to the transitory provisions of RA 11550, the corporate existence of MDN commenced upon the composition, qualification and assumption of its governor, vice-governor, and the majority of the members of its Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Under the 2023 General Appropriations Act, Congress allotted MDN a P1.8 billion budget, and P1.9 billion for Maguindanao del Sur (MDS).

Having now its own budget and the commencement of its corporate existence, the new provincial government and its more than 200 employees have high hopes that it will only be a matter of time before MDN emerges as the new “economic gateway” in that part of the region.

The MDN problem now is that they can’t access their P1.8 billion budget allocated by the national government to fund its programs and delivery of basic services to the prejudice of the public.

According to acting MDN provincial administrator Atty. Mohajiroe M. Lauban, that without the fund appropriated by the national government, there’s no way for the provincial government to continue and sustain its operations and deliver basic services.

“To secure the release of funds, a Provincial Treasurer must be appointed or otherwise designated in MDN, and to this extent, the province has requested the Bureau of Local Government Finance, Regional Office XII, Koronadal City (BLGF) to allow the Provincial Treasurer of the defunct Province of Maguindanao to perform the duties of the said office while in transition,” he said.

“The BLGF, however, required the submission of “appropriate legal documents” relative to the commencement of MDN, which were then duly submitted, but the said office still did not act on the request noting that the transitory provisions of RA11550 may no longer be applicable and sought the clarification and guidance of other offices on the matter,” he added.

“The BLGF, however, required the submission of “appropriate legal documents” relative to the commencement of MDN, which were then duly submitted, but the said office still did not act on the request noting that the transitory provisions of RA11550 may no longer be applicable and sought the clarification and guidance of other offices on the matter,” he continued.