Slamming Atom’s documentary on female circumcision in Basilan

GMA 7’s broadcast journalist Atom Araullo’s documentary about female circumcision in Islam hit a raw nerve among Muslims in Mindanao. Last May 6, he presented “Ang Panday” in his program “I-Witness,” which focused on the role of the Yakan healer in the community. Although the tone of the episode was well-intentioned, the lack of thoroughness and organization of the material resulted in a distorted picture of Basilan. 

That comment comes from Basilan Gov. Jim Hataman-Salliman, as reported by his special rapporteur Ayunan Gunting (Al-Hadj) and transmitted in his email to me.

“Instead of helping Basilan recover from the biased reporting from the outside, it further projected Basilan as culturally backward, chaotic and underdeveloped,” Gov. Hataman-Salliman told Ayunan.

First of all, said Gunting, the misspelling of the title “panday” is misleading. Panday, meaning blacksmith in Tagalog, should not be confused with the “pandey” (with an e), the Yakan term for health worker.

The documentary centered on Embong Ballaho, the pandey who claimed that when a woman is not circumcised, she is not a Muslim. Female circumcision is NOT compulsory in Islam, although it is acknowledged as a ritual on cleanliness. Some tribes practice this, but it is not encouraged. 

The episode depicted mothers and young daughters in Lamitan going to Ballaho’s home for the circumcision ritual. Araullo showed his propriety by waiting outside the room while the females underwent the rite. 

According to Gunting, to present balanced reportage, Araullo also interviewed Dr. Sitti Amilasan of the Department of Health Region 9 about female circumcision, who said that the local hospital had no record of trauma or infection after the female circumcision and one can’t mix religion with medical views. The show also featured the appalling state of local medical services. Consequently, the residents turned to the pandey. Health workers were quoted on how their lives were at risk and that they needed to be escorted after their shifts. One health worker revealed how they received text messages about extortion although it wasn’t clear on who was extorting them and what the causes were. 

Another disturbing aspect, Gunting wrote, was that the documentary reminded the viewers of the Lamitan Siege. In June 2001, the extremist group Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) invaded a church and a hospital, held hostages and subsequently fought with government troops. It also cited the death of two hostages, who were kidnapped earlier in a resort, as an outcome of terrorism.

“The documentary itself had many issues and showed no focus,” said Gov. Hataman-Salliman. “What does it want to convey? The inadequacy of social services? Violent extremism? Poverty? Peace and security? People and culture? Acceptability or unacceptability of a certain practice? Islamic or non-Islamic?”

The Basilan governor, said Gunting, seeks to clarify the following:

• A pandey is a barangay health worker, trained in assisting pregnant mothers and child birth. They have an agreement with the Mayor that deliveries are facilitated in a health center to ensure safety. The pandeys are compensated for every delivery. 

• Female circumcision is a dying practice, especially among the Yakan. The source, Embong Ballaho, is a barangay health worker and not a Yakan. 

• The episode drew negative reactions from the Yakans who felt that the incomplete reportage misrepresented their culture. Moreover, the girl being circumcised did not wear the appropriate Yakan attire. 

• The documentary sought to present reality by showing faces of the children going to Ballaho and one child who was partially undressed after the ritual. Despite the parental consent in allowing their children to appear on television, the girls could be subject to embarrassment in their community. 

• The local government has added more health centers around Basilan. There are two hospitals in Lamitan, one private and one government run; a district hospital in Sumisip; four in Isabela, and rural health units and medical centers in municipalities. 

• The documentary gives the impression of connecting female circumcision of the Yakan with violence and extremism. Although Basilan has suffered from extremism and terrorism in the past, the province has bounced back. Araullo only visited Barangay Maganda in Lamitan City and Barangay Baluno in Isabela City, and showed their unflattering aspects. The Basilan circumferential road, the first highway, paved the way to the building of other access roads connecting the municipalities. 

• The campaign against extremism, involving the military, the police force, the local government units and the Ulama resulted in the reconstruction of seven former Abu Sayyaf camps; the return of 164 ASG members to the law since 2016; and the restriction of movement from other extremist groups. 

• The local government’s initiative to improve the quality of life has resulted in its removal from the list of the country’s 10 poorest provinces; more accessibility to travel around the province; increased domestic tourist arrivals and better health conditions; more economic activities and peace and order.

“Hataman-Salliman urges media practitioners to be sensitive to culture and religion by consulting the Ulama Council (Council of Islamic Scholars/ Learned Muslims) to ensure accurate reportage. He also extended his invitation to the media to witness Basilan’s progress,” writes Gunting.

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FROM ANOTHER STAND: From time to time, brainy academicians, businessmen, female doctors and plain lucky housewives feel completely helpless when their air conditioning unit, kitchen lighting apparatus, water faucet and some such household apparatuses go on strike. So they call the “fix-it maam” to do the repairs and ease their minds.

When my gas range doesn’t work, and there are three sans rival I promised to bake for my friends, I call my life saver, Jhun Ansaldo. Jhun, in his early 40s, is a simple success story.

Jhun was born in Calabanga, Camarines Sur on Aug. 27, 1973. His mother died when he was 5, and his older brother took care of him and sent him through the elementary grades. Life was hard in Bicol, says Jhun, “but I studied hard, as I wanted to lift myself out of poverty.”

After I finished high school I looked around for someone to sponsor my college education. I was fortunate to be taken in by a caring couple, Atty. Ding and Annielou Saez, who sent me to the Ateneo de Naga where I took up the secretarial/stenographer course while I was doing supplementary jobs.”

From there Jhun enrolled in computer science at the Electron Technological School. After finishing college, he worked as a sales executive.

In 1951 he and a friend teamed up to form a company, Star Safe Marketing. In 1998, he started his own business, called Asaldo’s Marketing which is duly registered with BIR and DTI. The business deals in LPG anti-leakage safety device and gas range services. His clients include restaurants and commercial establishments and well-known personalities. “I’ve seen people throw away appliances thinking they’re no longer good, but my men do repair jobs – under my supervision – and the appliances come out good as new.” Jhun drives his own van and he and his men pick up and deliver the appliances.

Jhun loves to cook, especially dishes with coconut milk. That may explain why he is sincere about helping people do their cooking in safe cooking gadgets.

He proudly says that because of his company’s good work, he has a lot of clients from Class A to famous celebrities and politicians. They include the Madrigals and Zobels, glass architect Impy Pilapil, Backie Celdran, Jose Y. Campos, Freddie Garcia of ABS-CBN, Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco and children, Celeste Legaspi, Winnie and Christian Monsod, Vicki Belo, and Bing Pimentel, Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat and her sister Shalani Romulo, and a host of other influential persons.

Jun dreams of putting up a bigger establishment, and that may not be far from coming true.

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