Peace in your heart, peace in the south

It was a sad weekend for the country upon hearing the death of former president Benigno Aquino III last Thursday. He was a decent and respectable man until the time of his death. He chose to live in silence, knowing he had peace in his heart.

Many Filipinos misunderstood him during the last years of his presidency. I believe that, more than anything, it was the people around him that destroyed him. Many were just too greedy for self-interest, forgetting that PNoy was all for saving the country. But now, that is history and when we look back at his achievements as president, we are able to see through clearly between the ‘then’ and the ‘now.’

Yes, his death has indeed triggered the nation. It has become a rude awakening for many of us. Surely, the political scene will shift in the days to come. Abangan!

*      *      *

One of PNoy’s legacies for the country was the Bangsamoro Basic Law which was finally approved and passed under the Duterte administration. Although many opposed this change, it was inevitable for Mindanao and hopefully it will work for the good of the country.

At the wake of the late president Benigno Aquino III, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim said, “We are forever grateful for his administration’s efforts in revitalizing the peace talks and their help in laying the groundwork for lasting peace in Mindanao that resulted in the expansion and empowerment of the autonomous region in Mindanao.”

Atty. Anna Tarhata S. Basman, BTA member, said, “What sets him apart from all others is his heart for the Bangsamoro. I saw a leader who genuinely desired good for his people in the most conflict-ridden part of the country. He was the leader who recognized the justness of the cause of our armed struggle and rightness of real and effective autonomy for our people. He was the president who stood by and weathered the storm with the peace process and the BBL at the expense of his political capital. He was the one who went out on an arm and a limb to ‘beg’ the legislators to do right by the Bangsamoro and pass the BBL. He would not succeed. But that is not on him.”

*      *      *

Year 2021 has been declared as the year of Philippine Pre-Colonial Ancestors by the Philippine government. Recently, many young Filipinos have been rediscovering the Boxer Codex, as well as the writings of revered archeologists and anthropologists like H. Otley Beyer, William Henry Scott and Arsenio Manuel. There is also renewed interest in the works of National Artist Resil Mojares and other contemporary historians who paint fascinating pictures of pre-colonial society.

This wealth of knowledge and information often lead us to think that our pre-colonial culture died with the coming of the Spaniards. But, though much of it has been lost, there is still much that lives on in the culture of our indigenous people (IP).

A few weeks ago, Operation Brotherhood Community Foundation, which I head, was tasked to help the Philippine Coast Guard Community Relations group as they venture to Muslim Mindanao to establish peace efforts by creating community centers sensitive to each sub-culture. I found myself ignorant of the many cultures we have out there and the different tribes that actually contribute to our colorful Filipino heritage and culture.

How well do we know our people? We often make the mistake of lumping the people in the South into the catch-all term Moros, a Spanish term for Moors. Due to the history of the Islam religion in the Philippines, those in the Muslim community have been known not to call themselves Filipino Muslims due to King Philip II decreeing ‘the Expulsion of Moriscos’ in 1609, after naming the archipelago after him. The ‘Moro’ name was given by the Spanish inquisitors, who named the Muslims in the Philippines as such due to their geographical location of living on the moors.

So who are they? The Bangsamoro ‘moro’ people are the native Muslim inhabitants of the Philippines. They are the descendants of the early Malay, Arab and Indian migrants into the Philippine archipelago from as early as the 14th century. The Moro people formed their own ethnic group in southwestern Mindanao, Sulu islands and Palawan.

There are 13 Bangsamoro tribes: Meranao of Lanao del Sur; Maguindanaon & Iranun of Maguindanao; Yakan of Basilan; Tausug of Sulu; Sama, Badjao, & Jama Mapun of Tawi-Tawi, Kagan/Kalagan of Davao Province; Sangil of South Cotabato & Sarangani; Molbog of South Palawan and Palawanon of Palawan. Each of these groups have diverse cultures and traditions.

During the second founding anniversary of the BARMM regional government, Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim called on residents to support the regional government’s moral governance campaign. He said, “We can now proudly say that we have achieved genuine autonomy that encapsulates the long history of Bangsamoro people, our sacrifices and our shared visions for the next generation.”

The Bangsamoro government will have an asymmetrical relationship with the national government, as BARMM will have more autonomy than other regions in the country. It will have powers over budgeting, administration of justice, agriculture, disaster risk reduction and management, ancestral domains, human rights, local government units, public works, social services, tourism, trade and industry, amongst others. While the central government will retain powers over constitutional and national matters such as foreign affairs and defense.

But what is more important to remember in achieving success with any program in the region is to sustain peace and development, more than just establishing political reforms. All assistance for development must be culture-based. The desire to help needs genuine cultural sensitivity for it to be truly effective.

As-Salaam-Alaikum, peace be upon you!