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When I have learned about the history of the Sultanate of Sulu and other sultanates in Mindanao, and how even the Spaniards and Americans entered into treaties with these sultanates in order to show that the sovereignty of these sultanates were respected, I felt a deep respect for these sultanates. It means that they are strong enough to show that they are independent and to fight for their independence. They were able to stand strong against invaders and conquerors from outside the Philippines, even if these conquerors were able to conquer almost every other region in the Philippines. Actually, I have always admired the bravery of the members of these sultanates in Mindanao.
However, I was disappointed when the speaker said that ARMM, specifically the sultanate of Sulu which was once a proud sultanate, is now the poorest region in the Philippines. I agree with the speaker that Sulu is indeed in poverty at present since she showed statistics that show this. The statistics she showed were the statistics of households with access to water and statistics of households with access to electricity. According to the statistics of households with access to water, in 1970, Sulu was once ranked number 37 in the country but in 1990, Sulu became number 52. And according to the statistics of households with access to electricity, Sulu was once ranked number 38 in the country but in 1990 its’ ranking went down to number 73. Although the statistics of the year 2013 were not shown, she said that the 1990 statistics remain constant up to the present year so if this is true I believe that it is very unfortunate that Sulu is in poverty now. However, it would still be better if the statistics were closer to the present year for more accurate data. Nevertheless, I commend the speaker for showing statistics of households with access to water and electricity since access to water and electricity are factors that determine the poverty of a certain region.
Another point that the speaker said was that political marginalization was a cause of threat to Moro identity. And this political marginalization is caused by the misinformation and discrimination caused to the Bangsamoro by the popular media and culture. I agree that there really is misinformation and discrimination against the Bangsamoro especially in religion because I sometimes go to masses which say that the Catholic religion should be the only religion in the world and that every non-Catholic person must convert to Catholicism and Christianity. I agreed more when the speaker cited an example of misinformation and discrimination against the Bangsamoro when she said that a sect in Manila stated on radio that the Bangsamoro were evil and that we should all hurt them. Whoever said that on radio is very deluded in my opinion and these comments are hurtful and should really be neutralized and not allowed to be aired.
Lastly, I would like to say that I am in full agreement with the speaker when she said that they key to solving the Zamboanga crisis would be for the Chavacanos (Christians) to accept the Bangsamoro (Muslim) and for Christians in general to accept the Muslims in the Philippines. We should find common ground between the Christians and the Muslims (for example the kind of music we listen to) in order to promote unity between the Christians and the Muslims. Technology could be used to help achieve unity since the speaker said that young Muslim people are also tech-savvy just like young Christian people, so we could create a big, free forum and even use social networking sites to find common ground between the Christian people and the Muslim people and when we find similar things that we could all talk about, then we could get to know more about each other and feel closer to one another. I agree with the speaker that we are all in the same boat. If there is no peace in the South (Mindanao) then there is no peace in the Philippines as a whole so we should all get together and accept one another.
Blogpost by: Elaine Lee Ramos
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