Hataman cautions Urdaneta City on reported plan to uproot Muslims

COTABATO CITY, Philippines -- Moro officials on Tuesday urged the mayor of Urdaneta City in Pangasinan to exercise restraint in dealing with his Muslim constituents, whom he reportedly wants driven out owing to the alleged involvement of some in the narcotics trade.

 

Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao told The STAR he was saddened by the order of Mayor Amadeo Gregorio Perez IV to have Urdaneta City cleared of its Muslim residents.

 

The supposed move, reported by the Manila Times on August 8, is part of the mayor’s anti-illegal drugs campaign in all of the barangays under his jurisdiction.

 

The report also mentioned that the mayor had also asked the Sangguniang Panlungsod to enact an urgent ordinance that would bar Muslims from moving to the city.

 

“It is unthinkable that there are local government officials who would take action based on prejudice instead of evidence, and would blindly uproot families from their homes rather than address the root of criminality itself,” Hataman said.

 

Hataman and other ARMM officials branded the supposed order an affront to the avowed interfaith and cross-cultural inclusivity policy of President Duterte in addressing national concerns.

 

"We understand that the government is working hard at every level and is doing everything that is necessary to rid the country of the drug problem, but this does not give any official the license to abuse his authority and go beyond the rule of law, not to mention the bounds of reason and common sense, especially when it leads to human rights violations," Hataman also said in a statement to the media.

 

He said that he and other ARMM officials are inviting Urdaneta City officials to a dialogue. He added that the ARMM goverment will coordinate with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos "to ensure that our Muslim brothers and sisters will not be treated like criminals simply because of their faith, and that they will not be treated unfairly at any point during the course of the national and local government's campaign against illegal drugs."