MALACAÑANG AND the Defense department have been elusive about the brewing tension over a 72-hectare property within Zamboanga City that is under the ownership of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“I don’t have information on that still, up to now. I’ve been trying to get the feedback from the Department of National Defense as of Sunday, June 17,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said Wednesday last week in a press briefing at the Palace.
“(A)nd they have not actually given us any information on this so-called transaction,” Mr. Roque said, referring to the pronouncements of Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar that President Rodrigo R. Duterte himself has expressed intent “to purchase the properties.”
Ms. Salazar has also cited Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenza as having acknowledged the longstanding request of local officials to have the property transferred from the ARMM’s jurisdiction to the national government.
Mr. Lorenzana, when sought for comment, initially asked where the story was sourced. After being told that Ms. Salazar has issued official statements on the issue, the Defense secretary did not give any further comment.
“I think credit should go to Pres. Duterte because he has intended to purchase the properties,” Ms. Salazar said.
The property, located in Barangay Cabatangan, has an estimated value of P359 million, according to the mayor.
She cited the basis for the supposed planned purchase as Section 1, Article 17 (Transitory Provisions) of Republic Act 9054, or the Expanded ARMM Law.
The provision states: “The land and permanent buildings owned, controlled, administered or in possession of the ARMM located in provinces and cities, which do not vote favorably for inclusions of their respective areas in ARMM, shall be purchased by the national government. In turn, the national government shall, from its acquisition of said land and permanent buildings or structures, sell, transfer and convey the said properties in favor of the local government unit having territorial jurisdiction thereover, and willing to purchase said land and buildings or structures or portions thereof.”
On the other hand, the ARMM regional government, said it “has received no confirmation of Mayor Climaco’s claim from the national government, and was not consulted at any point prior to the announcement of the alleged intent to purchase.”
ARMM Bureau of Public Information head Amir S. Mawalil wrote, “The Cabatangan property is not owned by ARMM government, but by the Bangsamoro people whom the ARMM represents. Any plan regarding the property must involve the Bangsamoro people, from its proposal to its approval or rejection.”
“Our right to self-determination as Bangsamoros is not only challenged in the halls of congress but in the everyday realities we face as a people already recognized as ‘autonomous’ on paper by the Constitution. Know that the ARMM government will always seek to represent the Bangsamoro people with accountability and transparency, and that every decision involving our history and our people will not be taken lightly,” he added. — Marifi S. Jara with a report from Arjay L. Balinbin

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