Mujiv Sabbihi Hataman is a Filipino politician and current party-list representative of Anak Mindanao (AMIN) in the House of Representatives (2001-present). He started as a protege of slain leader Wahab Akbar, but broke with him around 2007 and was even implicated in his death, although charges were eventually dropped. His two brothers are also influential politicians; older brother Hadjiman "Jim" Hataman is the representative from the lone district of Basilan, and younger brother "Boy" Hataman was previously mayor of Sumisip.
Together, the Hataman brothers constitute a powerful political bloc in Basilan. Former Lamitan mayor Roderick Furigay is considered one of their allies. Until recently, Gerry Salapuddin was also an ally, but they may have had a falling out after the accusations associated with the Akbar assassination.
Contents |
Hataman was born in 1972 in Buli-Buli, Sumisip. In 1994 he graduated from the AMA Computer University, where he was the leader of the Muslim Youth and Students Alliance.[1] He is married to Sitti Djalia Turabin.
The Hatamans and their allies constitute one of the powerful familial political blocs of Basilan, and frequently come in conflict with the Akbar family in competing for elected office. Frequently this conflict turns violent; in December 2008, two of Mujiv's cousins were shot dead in an attack, and Mujiv was one of several politicians fingered in Akbar's assassination in November 2007.
Hataman started as an ally of Akbar; he served as Akbar's chief of staff while he was Governor, and in 2001 was supported as the main party-list Anak-Mindanao candidate to the House of Representatives. Under the party-list system, an underrepresented group or party can obtain one House seat for every two percent that it gets of the party-list votes, with a maximum of three.[2] AMIN achieved the minimum threshold despite election irregularities that nullified some if its votes[3], but the Supreme Court then issued a temporary restraining order that prevented the party-list representatives from being sworn in.[4] Mujiv served as spokesperson for AMIN in the intervening period. After a two-year delay, the Supreme Court in July 2003 lifted the order and he was finally installed as a representative from Basilan at age 30.[5]
In a 2004 Philippine Daily Inquirer report, Mujiv was cited as one of the "poorest" congressmen serving in the House of Representatives, with a net worth of only P420,000. The same report noted that out of 225 members of the House, only six were not millionaires, with the richest worth upward of P500 million.[6] By 2006 Mujiv's net worth had increased to P690,000, but was still in the bottom tenth.[7]
Mujiv served as a member of the Kahapan Foundation--Moro Human Rights Center (Kahapan-MHRC). He sponsored the Anti-Discrimination Bill in the Congress in affirmation of INternational Convention against All form of Racial Discrimination.
Being a human rights advocate Hataman opposed Gov, Akabar's implementation of indiscriminate warrantless arrests in Basilan. This started the disagreement between the two. This angered Gov. Akbar that ultimately lead to the falling out of the two.
Captured suspect and former Tuburan town mayor Hajuron Jamiri fingered both Mujiv and his brother Jim as being the masterminds of the November 2007 bombing at the House of Representatives that killed four people including Wahab Akbar. Jamiri claimed in a two-page affidavit that Mujiv and Jim wanted Akbar dead because Basilan would "not be at peace" under his administration. [8]
The Hataman brothers denied the allegations, however, and Jimiri's statement was eventually retracted. Mujiv claimed that Jimiri had been tortured and that his "confession" came under duress.[9] Fellow conspirator Ikram Indama likewise later claimed that Salapudin, Bayan Judda, Caidar Aunal, Adham Kusain, Jang Hataman, Jim Hataman and Mujiv Hataman were all not involved in the Batasan blast, and that he was forced by the Akbars to admit to the bombing and to implicate the others.[10]
In 2010 Mujiv ran for Governor of Basilan, with former vice governor Boni Balamo as his running mate.
A Manila Standard report in February 2011 asserted that President Benigno Aquino would move to postpone the August 8, 2011 elections in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao and instead appoint Mujib Hataman as an "officer-in-charge" to ensure clean elections and reform the current system of governance. The priority bill, if passed, would postpone the elections until 2013 to synchronize it with other mid-term elections. Sources of the paper claimed it was newly-designated political affairs adviser Ronald Llamas who had advised Pres. Aquino to push for the postponement of the ARMM election and the appointment of Hataman, putting Muslim Mindanao in his own sphere of influence. [11]
According to a BusinessWorld article, Hataman in 2004 started a company with his brother that distributes fresh fish from Mindanao to businesses in Manila. He said the business is not his, but that of his brother and a brother-in-law, and he only shares his managerial and marketing expertise. "I only help in the marketing. It's really my brother who runs the business," he said. The business started with only P20,000 in capital and now earns P30,000-P40,000 a month. His distribution network includes wet markets in Manila and Quezon City. [12]