COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said it has received no information that the National Government is interested in purchasing the 72-hectare property of the ARMM in Zamboanga City.
Called the Cabatangan Complex, the property is now being used by the military as barracks for soldiers. But Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar and Representative Celso Lobregat wanted the property and have been lobbying the Duterte government to buy the sprawling real estate and sell it to Zamboanga City.
We Want It
Salazar even told journalists that Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told her that the National Government would purchase the Cabatangan Complex and the local government is interested in buying it. “This is very positive news for us,” she said, adding, in her past and recent meetings with President Rodrigo Duterte and even with Lorenzana “the Cabatangan properties, the city’s non-inclusion in BBL and the return of the regional center and the new airport were among the issues she discussed.”
Climaco said she also handed over to Lorenzana a letter containing the list of ARMM properties located in Cabatangan, including a map and corresponding photocopies of titles of the properties.
Situated with those parcels of land are buildings and structures of national government agencies like the Department of Education, Department of Health Training Centers, Commission on Audit Regional Office 9, the Civil Service Commission Regional Office 9, the Population Commission Training Center, the National Telecommunications Commission, the Philippine Army Brigade, the Philippine Marines and the Philippine Navy barracks, among others.
“It is very important that before the passage of the (Bangsamoro Basic Law) BBL, these parcels of land be ceded and transferred to the national government under the Expanded ARMM Law. In turn, the City of Zamboanga is very willing and able to purchase the same from the national government,” Climaco stressed in her letter to Lorenzana.
“These parcels of land can be transformed into a government center to cater to the office needs of local and national government agencies and headquarters of military installations situated therein,” she said.
Lobregat also claimed to have worked so hard in Congress to have the Cabatangan issue tackled and eventually for Zamboanga to acquire it from ARMM.
Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook
Prior to the establishment of ARMM, the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook (LTP) Region 9 purchased the property and had turned it into its seat of government. This is the reason why the property is known by locals as “Lupong.” When the LTP was abolished upon the creation of the ARMM, the Cabatangan property was placed under the jurisdiction of the ARMM.
Director Amir Mawallil, of the ARMM-Bureau of Public Information, said the Regional Government has received no confirmation of Salazar’s claim that Duterte gave his nod to buy the Cabatangan property, and that ARMM was not consulted at any point prior to the announcement of the alleged intent to purchase.
Bangsamoro Property
“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,” Mawallil said.
“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.
The ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly is yet to issue a statement on the issue, but many of its lawmakers are likely to reject Salazar and Lobregat’s insistence for Zamboanga to purchase the Cabatangan property. (Mindanao Examiner)
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