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Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Southern islands

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"The seas that separate our archipelago connect us all."

 

My entire weekend was spent visiting JCI chapters in the country’s southernmost islands – Basilan and Sulu. It was my first time to visit this part of the Philippines, and this trip taught me a lot, not only about the region’s storied past and rich culture, but also about the everyday life of its people – including their cares and concerns.

I grew up in a Catholic household, so spending time among my Muslim friends was a real eye-opener. As it turned out, my Muslim friends in Mindanao were not in any way different, no less Filipino than those from Luzon and the Visayas. We share their love for family and kindness towards others. Their language and cuisine may be in some ways different from ours, but the fervor of their words and flavor of their dishes definitely reinforce how our diversities enrich the cultural tapestry that is the Filipino.

One important realization for me, though, is that our differences in creed was the least important among our divergences. Walking by the Jolo Cathedral, I passed by a tarpaulin installed on its wall, “We are all Tausugs, we are all Filipinos.” Such was a powerful statement of solidarity from a community whose resilience have been tested many times in the past – including the brutal twin bombing of the same Cathedral in 2019.

In a chance conversation, the parish priest of the Cathedral, Fr. Jeff Nadua, concluded that he was confident that the perpetrators were not from Jolo. Christians lived in harmony with the town’s Muslim majority, to a point that intermarriages between persons of the two faiths were common. Even my JCI colleagues from Jolo – Aileen and Deng – told me that in their province – regardless of their religion, Muslims and Christians were both considered Tausugs.

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This affirms that the difference in religion was never a factor in the Mindanao conflict. The underlying reasons for the years of unrest however cannot escape the observant eye. While the major population centers of Jolo in Sulu as well as Isabela and Lamitan in Basilan were in no way different than any provincial capital in the country, one can notice that obviously much is wanting for the people to enjoy a much better quality of life.

Lasting peace in Mindanao, therefore, will not happen simply through political reforms. The words of the blessed pope Paul VI resonates in my mind, “Development is the new name of peace.” What our Filipinos in Mindanao need are the means not only to improve their individual lives, but to build a strong social and economic environment that fosters growth and prosperity.

These observations have been raised many times before and these aspirations have already been there for a long time. Still, despite the many political solutions and economic packages extended to the region, much remains wanting. In fact, the situation appears to be too complicated that it would only be historically inaccurate but even politically unfair to pin responsibility squarely on either the government and the local population.

In order to attain elusive progress of Mindanao, two things are essential. First, it is important to correct the historical injustices of the past, and second, to build on the inherent strengths of the region.

No matter how our contemporary history would project it, Muslim Mindanao, notably the Sultanate of Sulu long predates the Philippines as we know it. As the religion, culture and way of life of the Christian majority began to spread across our islands, admittedly these moves sidelined not only the longstanding Islamic faith, but even the cultural practices and social behavior of the people of our southernmost islands. With it came cultural and social influences from the West that significantly altered the ways of the people of Basilan and Sulu and in the end, the original settlers of these islands ended up alienated in their own land.

This is a historical mistake that should be addressed. For example, in teaching Philippine history, it is important to underscore the interesting story of pre-Hispanic Philippines. During our tour to the Sulu Museum, we learned that as early as the fourteenth century, the Sultanate of Sulu had established not only economic but even political ties with China – more than a century before the Spaniards supposedly “discovered” the Philippines.

These historical mistakes, however, cannot be corrected by imputing guilt on past generations, whose thinking was perhaps only influenced by the prevailing mores and norms of their time. After all, all these years of recorded human history have been a mute witness to succeeding generations of conquerors and the conquered – a cycle of violence that sadly continues to this day.

The best way to correct our historical injustices begins with us acknowledging our shared stakeholdership of the future. There is no point for us today to assign guilt to those responsible for these past acts of injustice. One corrects historical injustices by removing the sad consequences that persist into our day and providing them with the means to rise above these challenges in order for the present as well as future generations to access the same opportunities for themselves and their families.

It took us more than three hours by speedboat to reach Jolo, and all the while, I was thinking of all the violence and poverty with which the mainstream media often portrays the situation in Muslim Mindanao. But upon arriving there I was honestly surprised how life seems to the same as they are in my home province of Leyte and Samar.

Indeed, there was that familiar grim face of poverty, but present too were the smiles of hope and optimism. There was that grey picture of limited employment, but the potential of the local human resource was not wanting. Instead, I saw a people that was proud of its past, working hard in the present to make both ends meet and whom I pray one day will a community that is even more confident of its future.

This is where it strikes me the most – there is a lot of lush natural resources and untapped tourism potential that could help bring these islands closer to progress. While help from the national government is necessary, what is even more essential is for the local population to break out of their self-imposed limitations and take ownership of their future. The local community must fully understand that a better life cannot be realized unless they work hard to capacitate themselves to stand par with the rest of the country and assert that they too play an equal stake in our nation’s destiny.

In our homeward journey, I could not help but admit how wrong I was about my perceptions and biases about our brothers from Sulu and Basilan. I am glad I made that trip. Indeed, the seas that make our archipelago do not separate, but rather they connect, not only our islands but our diverse stories that make who we are as Filipinos.

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