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A framework for a model Islamic Ummah (community)

In a larger sense, the 2017 Marawi siege served as a wake-up call. A focus group discussion among Maranao women after the siege revealed these sentiments: “We call Marawi an Islamic City, but there are...

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‘Light at the end of the tunnel’

The country passed a major hurdle on Monday, with the plebiscite to ratify a law that gives the country’s Muslim minority greater control over parts of Mindanao coming to pass without a major hitch....

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Duterte, Moro terrorists have blood on their hands

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is most likely the only leader in Southeast Asia who has proudly called himself a murderer and his bloody track record reportedly played a major role in winning the...

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Revisiting Mindanao 2020

Mindanao accounts for about a third of the country’s land area and a quarter of the country’s population The post Revisiting Mindanao 2020 appeared first on Inquirer Opinion.

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Federalism and imperial Manila

If they think shifting to a federal form of government will diminish ‘imperial Manila,’ they’ll be in for a surprise The post Federalism and imperial Manila appeared first on Inquirer Opinion.

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Loca local elections

The local elections interest me more than the lopsided race for the Senate. The post Loca local elections appeared first on Inquirer Opinion.

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IPs in crossfire

Out of sight, out of mind – a natural conclusion that is really a general rule. There are exceptions, of course, but time itself is a kind of ripening agent The post IPs in crossfire appeared first on...

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Peace zones: Let them be, leave them be

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. was reported to have said that peace zones like those in Sagada, Mountain Province and in Mindanao would be reviewed, basically insofar as these have...

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The SWS history of hunger

It was in July 1998, after seeing successive media reports of serious hunger in the country, particularly in Mindanao, that SWS first put the topic of hunger in one of its quarterly Social Weather...

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Culture of impunity as state policy

From being envied, we became a pitied people. This was the result of the Maguindanao massacre, the 10th anniversary of which arrived two days ago on Nov. 23. Out of the 58 victims of that gruesome...

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Martial law and institutional accountability

Last Dec. 10, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo announced that martial law in Mindanao will not be extended. “The Palace is confident on the capability of our security forces in maintaining the...

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Challenging Mindanao people’s resistance

The Duterte administration’s coercive extension of martial law in Mindanao is a dangerous machination. President Duterte is inexcusably accountable for its atrocious and treacherous imposition. He has...

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ML gives gov’t ‘wider latitude’ for action

We need martial law extension in Mindanao simply because of the fact that previous measures, unaided with all-out military force, have been proven insufficient. The post ML gives gov’t ‘wider latitude’...

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Ruling before reasoning

The Supreme Court’s decision dismissing all petitions questioning the joint congressional resolution extending martial law in Mindanao for one year was not unexpected; as the threshold cases since 2016...

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‘Balai’

Whenever I attend the inaugurations of our new social housing projects in Mindanao, I always find groups of children milling around as if wanting to join the celebration but wary of the adults. The...

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‘Community activists are not terrorists’

We are teachers, students, concerned New Zealanders and Filipinos in New Zealand. We admire the courage and dedication of teachers, volunteers, church and community workers who are working together to...

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Falling short in Marawi

Last Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the start of the siege of Marawi City — and the imposition of martial law in all of Mindanao. The post Falling short in Marawi appeared first on Inquirer...

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Mindanao’s murky future

It appears a foregone conclusion that the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), once enacted, will be a step backward from the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, leading to an “ARMM-minus” outcome,...

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BBL and liberal peace-building in Mindanao

The imminent signing of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by President Duterte is an important step in rectifying the historical injustices suffered by the people in Muslim Mindanao. The post BBL and...

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Mindanao’s Stockholm syndrome

Signs seem to point to a looming nationwide martial law. Mayors are being shot in broad daylight; the inflation rate is at 5.2 percent; the Consultative Committee has turned in a draft charter that...

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A positive perspective on Mindanao

I recently wrote about Mindanao’s uncertain future given the way the Bangsamoro Basic Law is shaping up. The post A positive perspective on Mindanao appeared first on Inquirer Opinion.

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‘Good to start’

That overused term preferred by diplomats is appropriate here: The congressional bicameral conference committee version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, hammered into shape at the end of six contentious...

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What Duterte got right

Much has been said about President Duterte’s shortcomings. Despite his promise to behave more “statesmanlike,” the President has defied every single convention in favor of an all-consuming cult of...

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Pilandok falls into the river

We met Pilandok, Mindanao’s trickster deer, in these pages two years ago (“President Pilandok,” 6/7/16). The post Pilandok falls into the river appeared first on Inquirer Opinion.

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Where’s mention of Mindanao martial law?

For something as consequential as martial law, there was not a single mention of it in President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona). And for a vast island group, home to six unique...

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Historic moment

It is perhaps the most important legislation passed under President Duterte’s leadership. But where was the sense of occasion, the honoring of the historic moment, when the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL)...

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A welcome breakthrough in Mindanao

The government of the Philippines took a bold step late last week towards permanent peace and stability in the restive region of Mindanao when President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic...

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Our biggest block

Politics is like cholesterol. It can be good or bad, but it’s the latter that gets all the attention because its effects are far more conspicuous and damaging. The post Our biggest block appeared first...

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A taste of CDO

Cagayan de Oro—On our second day of the “Yes for Peace” workshop, meant to help selected members of civil society organizations in Mindanao to develop a media plan for the coming referendum on the...

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Duterte’s Ark

There used to be 18 endemic fish species in Lake Lanao. Slowly, over decades, they became extinct, and there is perhaps only one remaining. The lake is now populated with alien invasive species. There...

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Is martial law truth commission possible?

Davao City — Amid COVID-19 restrictions and apprehensions, a volunteer group of advocates, the Independent Working Group on Transitional Justice–Dealing with the Past (IWG TJDwP) successfully conducted...

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Two tracks of the Bangsamoro peace process

Much of the discourse on the proposed extension of the transition period covering the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has focused on its justification. While some groups in...

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Tarhata’s grit

She breathed her last in the town of her birth, her beloved Marawi that remains in ruins, where she played as a young girl, where she found love, and where she led as the first female governor. The...

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Stop state-sanctioned violence: Justice for Lianga massacre victims

We, an association of consecrated women in Mindanao, express both lamentation and rage over yet another spilling of innocent “lumad” blood on ancestral lands. The blood of Angel and Lenie Rivas, and...

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‘The past is always present…’

Can we ever revise the past? “History cannot be restored and re-enacted. However, past injustices can be brought to light and be corrected.” This is the gist of a paper that Dr. Astrid Tuminez, former...

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Tradition vs girls’ human rights (2)

In 2013, I led a team of researchers from Mindanao State University–General Santos City to conduct a study on early marriage practices among two indigenous peoples (IPs) in the South Cotabato-Sultan...

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Making R&D a priority (3)

As noted in my previous columns on this topic, both government and academic institutions have not allocated sufficient funds for this type of work, justifying this to be among these institutions’ least...

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Taking Marcos at his word

Filipinos understandably associate martial law with Ferdinand Marcos Sr. because they have short memories. Rodrigo Duterte placed Mindanao under martial law in 2017. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed...

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Prolonged hunger in NCR

What strikes me most about the new Social Weather Stations hunger survey is that the richest area of the country, the National Capital Region (NCR), is again the one with the highest proportion of...

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Support domestic tourism: It’s more fun in Dipolog City

A recent quick weekend escapade with six of my friends, from Quezon City to Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, was an exhilarating experience that I would like to highly recommend in support of...

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