DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is absolutely correct when he describes as discriminatory a plan by police and military officials in Central Luzon to issue mandatory IDs to more than 26,000 Muslims in the region as a way to flush out terrorists.
Sadly, the response from other relevant government officials has not been as enlightened.
The officer-in-charge of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Catalino Cuy, for example, said he sees nothing irregular in the move by local officials to implement security measures.
Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa, while saying the proposal is a local, not a national initiative, said he regards the ID as merely “a form of record keeping.”
At the heart of the controversy is a plan by Police Regional Office 3 Director Supt. Aaron Aquino to issue mandatory IDs that all Muslim residents must wear. These IDs must be signed by the local chief of police and government units for “easy, proper and efficient authorization.”
Aquino said the IDs can can help local communities identify suspicious individuals so they could be reported to the authorities.
The practice of issuing IDs, he added, is being successfully implemented in Paniqui, Tarlac, and should be expanded to the entire region, “not only to protect the civilian populace but also vital government installations against terrorism.”
This idea is not only unconstitutional; it is both foolish and dangerous.
Section 5 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution clearly states: “The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed.”
The operative phrase, in this instance, is “without discrimination or preference.” How difficult is it to see that singling out Muslims for a mandatory ID clearly discriminates against them and their religion?
As Lorenzana put it: “Why only Muslims? Why not require everyone to have an ID?”
From a practical point of view, a Muslim-only ID is foolish. If a terrorist wants to mingle with the general population undetected, would he do so dressed in a way that marked him as a Muslim? If he passed himself off as a non-Muslim, what good would a Muslim-only ID be?
Beyond the foolishness, the decision to focus only on Muslims is dangerous because it might later be used as the basis for a national policy, and fuel resentment among Muslims that feeds the kind of extremism we have been trying so hard to avoid.
The governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Mujiv Hataman, made this point as he expressed alarm over the proposal.
“We believe this policy clearly discriminates against the believers of Islam and could set a dangerous precedent,” he said.
Hataman said it could just make matters worse, as it could “ignite anger among young Muslims who are the primary target for recruitment of extremist groups.”
Bad ideas need to be nipped in the bud. This is clearly one of them.