By Jinky Lou Tabor Sumisip, Basilan - Governor Jim Hataman-Salliman expressed his disappointment following a documentary film hosted by Atom Araullo of GMA 7 TV Network. Governor Jim Hataman-Salliman (photo from House of Representatives) In an official statement forwarded on Wednesday to Manila Bulletin by the Provincial Government Information Office, Salliman said the province is one in condemning "the insensitive" presentation of the documentary entitled "Panday" which has been aired over the network's I-witness program last May 6, 2018. The segment covered issues surrounding Basilan but focused in the work of a traditional healer commonly known as "Pandey". In the short film, Araullo said he stayed in Basilan for some days specifically at the house of one Embong Ballaho, a pandey. It followed the process of doing women circumcision. Ballaho said the ritual is of Yakan tradition for the young women if they want to be called genuine muslim. However, Salliman told Manila Bulletin that Ballaho is not a Yakan and that her claim about the circumcision and its relevance to being a muslim is false. Araullo could have consulted the ULAMA Council, an authority for Islamic Scholars where muslim teachings are learned, he said. The way of presentation was questioned further by the Governor when the program showed footages of wars and other horrific experiences which he found not relevant to the topic of circumcision. The host failed to capture the present progress of Basilan including circumferential roads, government facilities and update on terrorism concern which has intensely changed positively over the years, added Salliman. Basilan has been removed from the list of top 10 poorest provinces in the country. In a recent visit by Manila Bulletin in the province, some of the development were noted. Recovery of areas once occupied by terrorists are done, housing projects are given to deserving beneficiaries and the local government are already welcoming tourists coming in from different countries. Just recently, beautiful tourist destinations in the Municipality of Maluso are frequented by high volume of visitors from the outside. These and a lot more shows significant leap from the old Basilan image most people know about. Salliman also challenged Araullo and his team to come back and experience the real Basilan. Aside from calling the attention of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Baord (MTRCB), National Commission on Culture and the Arts ( NCCA) and the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) to look for possible violation of the documentary film, Salliman is also asking Araullo, I-witness and the TV Network to correct the flaws of the "Panday" documentary which, according to the Governor, "caused confusion, cultural misinterpretation, misconception and misunderstanding". "We have always banked on GMA Networks core pronciples as aptly stated, "walang kinikilingan, walang pinoprotektahan, serbisyong totoo lamang. Stand by it, be objective and be true to it. Be part of the change and development curreently and continously taking place in Basilan", Salliman said. Last May 23, 2018, the office of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Lamitan where the documentary was filmed passed a resolution rebuking the same and said it violated Republic Act 8371 or thr Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 particularly to the cultural sensitivity of the Yakan Tribe.