Years of denial and inaction

Arnold Garbanzos

ILIGAN City– 1920 – The Sultans and Datus of Lanao requested then the US President that they wanted a federal government for Lanao and if not they would like to be part of the US as one of  its states, since only a federal government like the US can understand a federal Sultanate like the Pangampong Ranao of  Lanao del Sur. The request was denied.

1935 – Senator Tomas L. Cabili opposed a unitary government during the drafting of the 1935 Constitution.  He fought hard to protect the interest of Lanao and its people.  For him, federalism was the best set-up for our nation, especially tri-people of Mindanao. The request was denied. The entire nation did not listen to Lanao. Final vote was 201 against one. The lone vote against was Lanao.

1960s – The Mindanao State University (MSU) was created in the Islamic City of Marawi but the corresponding Islamic industries and businesses to absorb all of  its Muslim graduates was not created. Industries like Amanah Banking, Takaful Insurance and other Islamic Financial institutions which today are multi-billion industries worldwide.  Islamic tourism was not encouraged. When will we learn the simple formula that manufacturing minus sales equals waste. Producing graduates is not enough, corresponding industries and jobs must also be created.

Again by its own inaction the leaders of Lanao and our government again denied the rights of our minority Muslim brothers and sisters.

1970s – The proposal for a Maranao province equal to the Ifugao or Mountain Province of Luzon was presented and espoused by Lanao del Sur.  The proposal was denied.

1980s – The proposal for a Lake Ranao Development Authority was presented in three successive congresses by then several congressmen and senators. Even the Armm drafted a proposed bill on the matter.  The motion was denied.

During that decade, the Lake Lanao Watershed Protection and Development Council (LLWPDC) was created by two presidential memos by then President Corazon Aquino and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, respectively. A budget was presented to the NPC and the DENR for its management and implementation.  DENR did not listen.  NPC did not care. Today, the presidential memos have no teeth and no power. Again, the rights of Lanao were denied.

1990s- The Epira was drafted and finally passed as a law which denied the rights of the people of Lanao to enjoy the bounties of the lake as far as hydro-power was concerned. The law was presented as a means to lower power cost in Mindanao and its rationalization.  But it never did. It legally gave the benefits of the lake to the private sector and oligarchs of this nation. The Maranaos of Lanao or the Christian majority of Lanao were never  given ears on the matter.

This nation must realize that denying the rights of our minorities indirectly affects the rights of our majority.  What happens to Marawi indirectly affects Iligan because both cities and its provinces have a built-in synergy that this nation refuses to recognize or chooses to deny. This was what Senator Cabili was saying all along–the denial of the rights of Marawi is equally the denial of the rights of  Iligan.

FVR decided to privatize our biggest steel plant in the city leading to its demise today. Why privatize a good and earning Gocc?  FVR practically killed our steel industry today.

Lanao and its people were again denied their rights to what is rightfully theirs.

2009 – The idea for the Indigenous Peoples University of the Philippines or the Ipup was presented to the city council by Professor Bernabe Sanchez of MSU-IIT, Dr. Ben Mansumayan and by me. This is the best way to preserve the culture of our Higaonon brothers and develop the hinterlands of Iligan which comprises 63 percent of our land area as a city. In the hinterlands, Maranaos and Lumads are considered brothers and neighbors. The idea was denied and not given action by the city and our lone district.

Take note that the 2008 MOA-AD issue and attack on the city of Iligan came from the hinterlands of Iligan.  Again in 2011, the logs, and the waters that flooded our city came from the hinterlands of Iligan. We expect that the next calamity that would visit Iligan would come from its hinterlands. We do pray that this does not happen but our lack of action on the matter as a city may soon be our own undoing.

2010 – The idea for a Hajj Fund for Marawi created by Iligan was advocated and espoused by me to several government agencies like NPC, DENR and NWRB and the local government of Iligan. There is a way to build peace through the waters of Lanao. The idea was simply to build water-based industries for soft drinks, fresh water and juices in Iligan and a percentage of its revenues returned to Marawi as a pilgrimage fund for our Muslim brethren.  It is a pilgrimage fund created by a Christian city for its Muslim neighbor-the Islamic City of Marawi. Nobody listened. Again, the idea was denied.

2013 – A Lumad representative was put in place in our city council. This is in line with the NCIP law. The idea of a corresponding Maranao representative was also presented since Iligan is a tri-people city composed of Muslims, Christians and Lumads. The idea was not heard by the Council and the rights of the Muslims and the Maranaos in our city was again denied.

2017 – The Marawi war erupted due to the Maute-ASG of Lanao del Sur.  The years of denial resulted in Mindanao’s biggest problem today.  For years, the Maranao tribe never had a fighting force or army. The MNLF was created by a Tausug. The MILF was created by the Maguindanaons. The Maranaos never created its own army.  Until the Daesh Maute of Lanao del Sur came. Now, we are in no position to deny this fact. It is now a reality facing our nation and the republic.

From the 1940s (when Marawi was created) up to the 1950s (when Iligan was created) and even up to today, there was never a tri-people peace and development council in place. The rights and welfare of the tri-people of Lanao were never considered. Many crimes against Christians perpetrated by Muslims, vice versa, are unsolved up to today, thereby increasing the animosity and hatred among our very own people.  Justice in Lanao is just an ephemeral idea, never a reality.

There was never an attempt to institutionalize peace-making in Lanao.  No sports fest to bring together the youth of both communities. No government-sponsored dialogues to bridge the gap between the two cultures and values. There is no remembrance of the “Dansalan Covenant” made by our founding fathers–Senator Cabili and Congressman Ali Dimaporo. There is no celebration of Muslim and Christian Friendship. There is no sharing of experiences of successful day-to-day Christian and Muslim marriages, an area where we can learn a lot as a people.  There is not even one day in Iligan City’s fiesta where we gratefully feed our Maranao brothers for free in recognition of their economic contribution to our city.

Industries and businesses in Iligan and Lanao do not have “equal protection and employment laws”where jobs can be apportioned equitably among the Tri-people.  Muslims and Lumads must have the same rights as Christians, vice versa.  What is good for the majority must also be beneficial to the minority.

God’s undeniable principle of the “hydrologic cycle” was never explained to the tri-people of Lanao–that you must return the blessing from where it came from (in this case, Marawi blessing Iligan through its waters). Iligan, as a Christian city, must return the favor to its Muslim neighbor in order not to break God’s eternal principle.

Today, by the influx and numbers of many Maranaos in Iligan and neighboring cities and municipalities, Christians nationwide have now learned to bless our Muslim brethren. God’s eternal principle of the hydrologic cycle can never be denied. It must be fulfilled whether we are in agreement or not.  And God/Allah cannot be denied.

By its years of denial and inaction, our nation and Lanao practically created its own biggest headache today.  When will we ever learn the lessons of history and nature? Hopefully, the Marawi war today will teach our country its biggest lesson as a nation. It is now a fact we can never deny as a people.

We must be pro-active in dealing with our minorities.  We must stop being reactive as a nation.

God bless the Philippines!  And may He preserve the Republic!