JOLO, Sulu – Political and community leaders in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi Monday thanked President Arroyo for naming Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) Undersecretary Nabil A. Tan as acting secretary of OPAPP.

Muslim and Christian communities also joined their leaders in thanking President Arroyo for trusting Tan to serve OPAPP as acting secretary and claimed that the national government is now putting the “right person in the right position.”
Former OPAPP chief Avelino Razon Jr. has filed his resignation earlier as OPAPP head, and is now preparing himself to join the mayoralty race in the City of Manila in the coming 2010 elections.

Tan, born in this capital town of Sulu, is currently the Deputy Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, a position he has held since June 2006. He also served for the same position from 1997 until 2002.

He is also the concurrent chairman of the Joint Working Group for the Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro National Liberation Front-Organization of Islamic Conference (GRP-MNLF-OIC) Tripartite Review of the Implementation of the 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement, the Muslim ulamas here said.

Tan, who is a lawyer, has been in public service for most part of his professional life making him more competent to handle such sensitive position in the government service, the Muslims in the academe profession here said.

As this developed, Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan said Tan’s assumption as acting OPAPP secretary is timely since Tan understands the sentiments and characteristics of the Muslims in Mindanao – being a Muslim himself.

He also served as a member of the GRP for the Southern Philippines Autonomous Region Group (GRP-SPAG) that negotiated the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the MNLF, the Sulu chief executive said.

During the 1980s and 1990s, he has held various positions in the government, among which are: Elected Assemblyman of the 1st District of Sulu; Elected Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional vice governor and appointed DILG-ARMM regional cabinet secretary, the governor added.

During this period, he was also the chair of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded Local Government Support Program-Regional Management Council–ARMM and Task Force Mindanao for Anti-Poverty Alleviation, he said.