FORMER Datu Paglas Mayor Datu Ibrahim "Toto" Paglas III passed away at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Davao Doctor's Hospital around 2 p.m. Thursday August 7, 2008, he was buried the following day at his hometown in the Municipality of Datu Paglas. Datu Toto as what we fondly called him is the husband of my niece Marilou Aradanas-Trani.
Paglas was admitted to the hospital Monday and immediately slipped into a coma. The illness allegedly started as an ear infection that got worse.Meningitis is a bacterial or non-bacterial infection that causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
Many are mourning Paglas's demise. I remembers him how he transformed his town into a productive one, as all the residents in the area valued hard and honest work. The MILF rebels and former lawless elements are now living a normal life with their families in his town. He was a Moro who committed and dedicated himself to the betterment of the Moro people. His vision to the Bangsamoro and to all people of Mindanao is quite incomparable.
As mayor of Datu Paglas town, Paglas followed Olongapo’s Richard Gordon by displaying huge “Bawal ang Tamad sa Datu Paglas” (Lazy people not allowed in Datu Pagalas).He left the mayoralty to go fulltime in his banana export business, hiring former rebels in his plantations.
He ran twice for regional governor of the ARMM: in 2001 as an independent, against Parouk Hussin, Malacanang’s anointed, and in 2005 under the Liberal Party banner against Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan.
He lost in the two regional elections.But he won audiences and was featured in national and foreign dailies.
Standing at 6’2, usually clad in white shirt and denims belying his royal lineage and riches, Toto became a favorite speaker of Makati businessmen as he spoke of a Southern region brimming with hope. Mixing Tagalog and Visayan, he endeared himself to his audiences by sharing his aspiration for peace in the region. He represented the youthful dynamism of the region, which was suffering from sporadic conflict and poverty, advocating business development, employment and education in ARMM.
For his leadership, he was awarded the Ten Outstanding Young Ten(TOYM) in 1999 and was invited to speak in foreign business conferences, including one in New York, where Bill Gates was one of the guests he impressed.
A grandnephew of the first Muslim Brigadier General and former Senator Salipada Pendatun and nephew of founding MILF chair Salamat Hashim, Paglas also helped in the peace process, a constant fixture in civic programs in the South. ABS-CBN even awarded him a Bagong Bayani for his civic work helping the ABS-CBN Foundation in crafting outreach programs for the evacuees.
Toto Paglas tagged as “The best governor the ARMM never had.” “The Muslim-Christian bridge builder.” “The Man Who Couldn’t Wait for Peace.” “The Datu in Sandals and Denims.”
Datu you left us, but your advises, statements are still in our mind. We will remember not only your achievements for peace and development but your personality as a productive and effective manager as well.
Salaam and Good bye, Datu Toto.
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