THE late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once said, “There is a type of woman who does not let her husband narrow her horizon.”
Once homemakers turned Muslim Mindanao’s most powerful women, Mayor Eleanor Dimaporo Lantud of Pantao Ragat, Lanao del Norte, and Party-list Rep. Princess Sitti Hataman of Anak Mindanao are an inspiration for their courage and commitment.
Bae Eleanor strives to improve the quality of life of her constituents, while Princess Sitti has been crusading for human rights and women’s causes. These pedigreed women embody the gentleness but steely strength of the Muslim spirit.
Eleanor’s father-in-law and husband were mayors, who served for three terms. While her male predecessors faced tough opposition, Bae Eleanor ran unopposed. “It’s probably because I’m a woman,” she says.
Since taking the helm, she has pushed for reforms. On her first year in 2007, there were no day-care centers to prepare young children for elementary school. She then hired unemployed undergraduates to tutor the children and to help them overcome their timidity.
“We, Maranaws, in remote areas are too shy. I encourage them [children] to do what they can to the best of their ability,” Eleanor says.
In seven years, more than a hundred day-care centers have sprouted in 20 barangays.
“The education standards have improved. The products of these day-care centers are now into higher education and have become achievers,” Eleanor says. The town also saw more infrastructures, such as better roads and school houses. “We believe in the future of Pantao-Ragat,” she says.
Her husband, Lacson, who was development-oriented during his term, exposed her to the rigors of bidding and building. Bae Eleanor takes pride that she finishes projects ahead of schedule, thereby saving the government millions in expenses.
Still, one of her challenges is finding livelihood projects for her constituents and making do with the lack of funding from the national government. “I want to help my people, especially the farmers, so that they can improve their agriculture. For the fresh graduates, I try to find jobs government agencies that would suit them.” With her firm but suave approach, Bae Eleanor is looked upon as a mother, rather than a politician. “I’m the only mayor who goes around without a bodyguard. I don’t want to flaunt my position.”
Her charisma is also attributed to her upbringing as a member of one of Mindanao’s enduring political clans, the Dimaporos. From her famous uncle, Mohammad Ali Dimaporo and her father Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Bae Eleanor learned how to earn the trust of the people. “They were good listeners and they acted immediately when people sought for their help. They would tell me that the people are the reason for your position and, so, you must love them,” Bae Eleanor recalled.
Bae Eleanor, 47, constantly reminds her seven children of old-fashioned values, such as respect and the need for continuous learning. “I tell my children that possessions will disappear, but education won’t.”
In legislation, Princess Sitti Hataman, who is the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao’s first lady, brings her experience as a non-governmental organization worker to Congress.
As the former executive director of the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos, she brings up the realities in remote Muslim communities when filing or supporting of bills.
She cites the example of her contribution to the Committee on Millennium Development Growth. By convention, hospitals and civil registry offices are the source of information for maternal mortality.
However, Muslims are not accustomed to putting in their details to registry offices.
“If we rely on traditional sources, then we don’t get accurate statistics because we miss out on those who don’t register. Local government units and people’s organizations can be the bases for data gathering,” she says.
Princess Sitti is most vocal about Muslim rights.
She points out that one of the reasons for conflict in the South is that government plans without consulting the locals and understanding their background. “The interventions are not what these people want or inapplicable to the community.”