COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu has been unanimously endorsed by his counterparts in four other provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as officer-in-charge (OIC) for the position of ARMM governor.

Governors Sakur Tan of Sulu, Sadikul Sahali of Tawi-Tawi, Jum Akbar of Basilan and Mamintal Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur also endorsed Acting ARMM Gov. Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong for appointment as OIC in his elective position as Regional Vice Governor.

The four provincial governors’ nomination of Mangudadatu and Adiong is contained in a letter submitted to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. copy furnished to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo, a key member of the committee created by President Aquino to screen aspirants for OICs in the ARMM’s 26 regional elective positions.

A copy of the nomination letter dated Aug. 9 was obtained by the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information (BPI) on Aug. 12, the day the screening committee was reportedly convened by Robredo to start screening nominees to the OICs for two regional executive positions and 24 slots for legislative members.

The four provincial governors endorsed Mangudadatu for OIC-Regional Governor in concurrent capacity as Maguindanao governor, vouching for his “credible and dignified profile” coupled with “courage in governance.”

They likewise premised their nomination of Adiong on the basis of his “track record” both as acting ARMM governor and regional vice governor that earned “satisfactory” rating from the National Economic Development Authority’s Executive Board, the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and several United Nations’ humanitarian agencies.

The screening committee was formed by President Aquino on July 28, about a month after he signed into law RA 10153, which defers and synchronizes the Aug. 8 ARMM elections with the 2013 midterm polls and authorizes him to install OICs upon the lapse of the incumbent regional elective officials’ term on Sept. 30.

Executive Order No. 51, signed by the President on July 28, created the committee composed of Robredo, the secretaries of the Department of National Defense and Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP), a civil society representative to be named by the President and another one to be nominated by the ARMM’s provincial five governors and one city mayor.

The five incumbent provincial governors and one city mayor in ARMM met last week and chose Gov. Sakur Tan as their representative to the Screening Committee.

The President has yet to appoint the NGO representative. But NGO representatives met with OPAPP Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles in Davao City on Aug. 8 and submitted a shortlist containing three names each for the slots of ARMM governor, vice governor and 24 members of the regional legislative assembly.

The shortlist was reportedly submitted to the Office of the President, which has mandated the screening committee to submit the final shortlists on or before Sept. 20.