In the coming weeks, the President would be selecting the OICs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. What registers NOW in PNoy’s radar screen is ‘reform the ARMM’. In fact, the ARMM has taken a center stage, albeit negatively, in his ‘State of the Nation Address’.

Taking a cue from the now famous SONA, what the President wants is a ‘GHOSTBUSTER’ to exorcise all the ghosts in the ARMM.

The OIC Governor has to be a “ghostbuster” who will take the lead to bust ghost teachers/employees, ghost schools, ghost towns, ghost bridges, ghost electorates, etc. No if’s and but’s, the new OIC’s litmus test is the courage and the political will to put an end to all that are ghosts and mirages that have made the ARMM notorious for graft and electoral fraud.

The roadmap for reforms in the ARMM need not be convoluted in high polluting economic and development plans that would take a generation to achieve. What is needed in the 22-month stint of the OICs is a daring policy that articulates that it will no longer be “business as usual” in the ARMM. If it would be business as usual and with the same faces or re-cycled ones, you are sending the wrong message. You may as well kiss your reforms good bye!

Borrowing from President Aquino’s use of “wangwang” to describe abuse of power, the OICs should ensure there will be more “no wangwang in governance.” Concretely, it would mean that the OICs must adopt a new work ethic. Leadership must be by stewardship and not by entitlement; that perks of public offices and public representation be done away with; and that the caretakers must focus on improving the human development indicators in the ARMM.

The real challenge for the next 22 months is to improve human development indicators specifically on educational survival cohorts; infant and mortality rates; poverty reduction and access to basis services, particularly education and health.

There are things happening in the ARMM since November 2008. Among the incumbent ARMM officials, I would like to recognize the reforms introduced by Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo who reports to his office by 8:30 or 9 o clock everyday. He does his work and visits projects. ES Naguib Sinarimbo is, presently, the ‘no nonsense’ face of the ARMM.

Simple projects would carry weights and bring new image of local governance. Project like ensuring that farm to market roads are, indeed, farm to market roads and “NOT roads to my farms”.

The OICs must also tend to the peace and security of the citizens, not (just) their security and their peace, referring to the use of policemen as escorts of public officials when they should be doing police work in their communities.

A number of similar things can be done in the first 100 days and they can go very far to change the image of the ARMM, something similar to ‘no more wangwang, no more counterflow.’ This time, there should be “no wangwang in governance” - meaning the end of entitlements in public offices.

But in real terms, when we speak of ARMM, we should refer to the five provinces and one city and NOT simply to the regional set up in the ARMM. It is false and misleading to simply point to the ARMM regional government bureaucracy. After all the real constituents of the ARMM are the people of the five provinces and one city.

In short, the five Governors and one city mayor as well as ALL LGUs in the ARMM must be on board. Good governance, in fact, begin with LGU in the municipality and province levels. The governors and mayors must be held accountable for their stewardships. No doubt, it would be refreshing and mind boggling if financial transactions involving public funds suddenly become above board and transparent. This would be close to a MIRACLE!

I believe in the God of many miracles!