MANILA -- Appointing officers-in-charge will not prevent warlordism in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, a senator said Monday, citing Andal Ampatuan Sr., patriarch of a clan accused of involvement in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre.

"It is a non-sequitur to say that appointing officials to replace elected ones is the solution. One need only be reminded that Andal Ampatuan Sr. got his 'break' when he was appointed OIC Mayor of Maganoy (Shariff Aguak) in 1986 and as they say, the rest is history," Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.

Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local government, opposes a proposal to postpone elections in the autonomous region until 2013.

Senator Francis Pangilinan had earlier urged postponing the elections to give political reforms time to take effect.

Pangilinan has also pointed at the Maguindanao Massacre, where at least 58 people were believed killed over political rivalry, as proof that elections have not done Armm much good.

Senator Franklin Drilon has filed a bill to postpone the elections in support of a counterpart bill already passed by the House of Representatives.(Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)