Rep. Mujiv Hataman of AMIN Party List and Rep. Faysah RPM Dumarpa of Lanao del Sur had filed two different bills on anti-Discrimination. Their bills are now being consolidated into one.
This consolidated bill is now on the process of being formulated and framed. We would like to hear your views about this bill and help contirbute to its construction by making your comments on its draft posted here.
Please Click on the links below to read the bill and post your comments.
Kagabi po tatlong magkakasunod na pagsabog ang naganap sa tatlong malalaking syudad ng ating bansa. Isa po sa Gaisano mall ng General Santos city, Sa Ecoland Bus Terminal po ng Davao city at isa sa may Ayala-EDSA,Makati city. Matapos po ang sunud sunod na pagsabog nang biglang makatanggap ng tawag ang DZBB mula sa isang nagngangalang Abu Sulaiman na umamin na siya’y tagapagsalita ng Abu Sayyaf. Inako, na kanilang kagagawan ang mga pagsabog bilang “valentines gift” kay Pangulong Arroyo at pamahalaan bahagi ng kanilang paghihiganti daw sa mga atrosidad na ginawa ng pamahalaan laban sa mga kapwa nilang Muslim sa Metro Manila at Mindanao kasama na ang patuloy na nangyayaring gyera sa Sulu.
We from Anak-Mindanao condemn in the strongest possible terms the cowardly act of the Abu Sayyaf group. The actuations of Abu Sayyaf are not sanctioned by ISLAM. There is no moral basis in their actions. At the very least, the bombings are the acts of cowards who have the courage, if ever we can call it as courage, to inflict harm on defenseless civilians.
No amount of reasons can justify their acts against innocent people. Their ACT is very an un-Islamic.
Ilan sa mga dahilan ng Abu sayyaf kung bakit nila ginawa ang kanilang pagpapasabog ay ang nangyayaring kaguluhan sa Sulu: Mainam din po natin alamin ang pangyayaring ito..
What is happening in Sulu?
Ang sabi po ng militar, “tinutugis namin ang grupo ng Abu Sayyaf na pumaslang sa aming mga kasundaluhan at kumidnap sa isang doktor na pinalaya na nong isang buwan na ang nakakaraan..” Ang sabi ng MNLF, “napilitan kaming lumaban dahil sa mga matitinding pang-aabuso ng mga elemento ng militar laban sa mga inosenteng mamamayan ng Sulu.
Mr Speaker. Maaring totoo ang sinasabi ng militar at maari ring totoo ang sinasabi ng MNLF. Maari rin mali ang mga sinasabi nila. Pero ang tiyak po ito ay isang malaking pagkakamali kung hayaan nating lumawak ang digmaan. Alam natin na ang epekto nito’y lalong PIPINSALA LAMANG SA MGA INOSENTENG MAMAMAYAN.
Mr. Speaker, base on what was intimated to us by the Honorable Congressman Hussin U. Amin, 1st District Representative of Sulu, who intends to deliver a privileged speech on the state of Sulu today, but is unfortunately indisposed, the facts go this way.
On February 1, 2005, a massacre of civilians took place in Barangay Kapuk Punggol in the municipality of Maimbung. Mr. Salip Paje, his pregnant wife and another child were killed in what was dubbed as massacre committed by a patrolling soldiers belonging to the AFP. Mr. Paje was reported to be a relative of well known MNLF leader Najar Padiwan. This incident was the turning point among the remaining MNLF members who for years accordingly, have kept their patience in the face of reports of atrocities committed by the military in Sulu. Sa Pilipino ang tawag po niyan ay “kapag puno na ang salop.”
According to the contacts of Honorable Amin, the February massacre was just a tip of the iceberg. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The group of Udtaz Malik has claimed that for so long, they have complained against the abuses of the military committed in their areas but such complaints remain unacted and unheeded. They said, the military chain of command completely ignored their complaints.
Having lost faith that the government will address their grievances, the group of Ustadz Malik launched the attack at dawn of February 6, 2005 to give justice to the victims of atrocities committed reportedly by the military against the civilian population.
But because the media do not know Ustadz Malik, they keep on repeating that he is a loyalist of Misuari. Mr. Speaker, it may be true that Malik and his men were a bunch of Misuari loyalists, but the present conflict has nothing to do with Misuari. That is why the reports coming out are rather unfair both to Misuari and to the group fighting now in Sulu. This also misleads the public. Indeed, the truth is again the casualty.
Mr. Speaker, I will tell you what we know of Uztadz Malik as related to us by Honorable Congressman Amin. Udstaz Habier Malik is a respected religious leader in Sulu. He is a graduate of Islamic Studies in Saudi Arabia. He is known to be a patient man. Before the incident, he sits as chairman of the Regional Unification Commission(RUC) in Sulu. His being a religious leader and as chairman of the RUC, he was active in bringing peace to warring families in Sulu. He is a man of peace. It is safe to conclude that Ustadz Habier Malik commands great respect and following not only in the Province of Sulu, but also in nearby provinces. He has the support of the people.
Mr. Speaker, we from Anak-Mindanao view the present situation with grave concern. A military solution is not the answer to the conflict. It has been tried before, it failed. The government may win the battle, but it will lose the goodwill of the people. Prolonging the war means prolonging the agony of our people.
We have received reports that there are 25,000 to 30,000 evacuees now. With this number, one can imagine how the local government or even the national government can cope with the needs of the evacuees. The social cost of war is staggering. In year 2000 alone, no less than 6 Billion pesos was spent by the government when the AFP attacked the MILF controlled territories. How many billions will be spent in the present military offensive? Ang perang ito Mr. Speaker ay mas nararapat na igagasta sa gamut, mga paaralan at pagkain sa mga nagugutom nating mamayan.
The military offensive will aggravate the incapacity of Sulu and Mindanao to absorb the expected influx of several hundreds of thousands of deportees from Sabah, Malaysia who migrated there in the first place to flee from the war in Mindanao.
What is to be done in Sulu?
The most urgent task is for the warring parties in Sulu, the GRP-AFP and the MNLF to immediately effect a ceasefire for the sake of the people. Respond to the current growing humanitarian crisis in Sulu, and the ceasefire will facilitate the relief work especially for evacuees and for their return to their homes and farms, the humanitarian task of caring for the wounded and retrieving and burying the dead, and the clearing of land mines.
Employ dialogue and negotiation, sit down and talk, rather than stand up and fight, to resolve the immediate and underlying issues between the parties, including problems in the implementation of their final peace agreement. For this purpose, the help of the best possible intermediaries should be sought, including the possible role of religious leaders such as those in the Bishops-Ulama Conference in rebuilding the peace in Sulu.
The House of Representatives may do its part in reviewing the government’s policy on war and peace. The House must pursue its own congressional inquiry on the Sulu hostilities and the relevant problems in the current peace processes with the MNLF and for that matter the MILF, as already called for under House Resolution No. 587 which I filed last February 10. Beyond the sorting out of these recent hostilities, their causes, costs, remedies, sanctions and preventive measures, there is the bigger question about the direction the two said peace processes with the MNLF and the MILF are taking, partly due to mixed signals from the government side.
The Special Committee on Peace, the Committee on Muslim Affairs, and the Committee on Human Rights to jointly conduct an investigation in aid of legislation on the reported atrocities committed by the military prior to the outbreak of military offensive. It is necessary to know whether or not the rules of engagement have been properly observed and to look for remedies on how we can safeguard more the rights of civilians.
The Congressional inquiry will also investigate the reported presence of US military officials in the present conflict. The House should exercise its oversight function to determine whether there is possible violation of our sovereignty.
In ending, the warring parties should listen to a Tausug woman and maybe find answers to her question when she, on behalf of her fellow residents in Sulu, plaintively asks “how many relatives and family members must I bury, how many times must I rebuild my house?” We make all these calls, but most urgently the ceasefire call, in the hope that there are still people in the government and our brethren in the hills who may listen to the voice of their humanity. Thank you.
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