ARMM Gov, Vice-Gov proclaimed

The five-province, one-city Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has a new set of officials.

Dr. Parouk Hussin, Presidential Adviser on Muslim Mindanao Affairs and former Lanao del Sur Governor Dr. Mahid Mutilan, were proclaimed winners in the gubernatorial and vice-gubernatorial race on Monday night, exactly a week after the November 26 polls.

Nabil Tan, deputy presidential adviser on the peace process, told MindaNews Hussin and Mutilan assumed office immediately since the previous set of officials were on holdover status since March 1999.

Tan said a bill filed in Congress to set the date of the assumption of office of the new set of officials to January 1, 2002, would be withdrawn since RA 9054, the law governing the ARMM, states that the officials would assume their posts as soon as they shall have been elected and qualified.

He said Hussin and Mutilan had taken their oaths of offices Monday night.

Hussin told MindaNews in an earlier interview that the first thing he would do when elected would be to "put order and sanity back into the ARMM."

— (Minda News)