Fixing our politics and remembering the ‘Jabidah massacre’

HOW can we fix the political system aside from a Charter change proposal? Did you know there are more than 300 political parties in the Philippines, the highest in Asia?

We attended the multi-party summit co-organized by the Ateneo and La Salle Schools of Government, with the support of the UK government, at the Manila Hotel last March 13.

Political party reform is a critical step because these organized groups are the nominating platforms for candidates and, therefore, elective officials. Political parties carry the voice of representatives who articulate the interests of constituencies.

Sadly, the research by Ateneo School of Government Dean Julio Teehankee for WR Numero shows that not many Filipinos are familiar with political parties. But a glimmer of hope is that Filipinos are not also easily influenced by machinery and celebrity.

We raised in the open forum the need for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and financiers to seriously allocate and budget for voters’ education activities and even public broadcasting.

Teehankee’s research validated our point that with more information comes more awareness of political parties.

I am thankful that inclusivity is tackled by the resource persons who were party leaders of Magdalo, such as former senator Antonio Trillanes 4th, the Liberal Party’s Erin Tañada, Akbayan, and Aksyon Demokratiko.

Keynote speaker UK Ambassador Laure Beaufils noted the mechanisms of quotas for sectors such as women.

In this light, we highlight the many barriers against women entering male-dominated electoral politics. Financing is a major issue. Opening parties to more women candidates is affirmative action.

In fact, according to one La Salle researcher, there is almost an equal number of women and men in the Sangguniang Kabataan — a great development in our growing democracy.

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March is “Bangsamoro History Month” and commemorates the 56th anniversary of the “Jabidah massacre.”

The infamous incident during the presidency of President Ferdinand E. Marcos concerns Muslim recruits who were allegedly summarily executed in Corregidor for refusing to follow orders to join an invasion of Sabah.

The observance at the UP College of Law, spearheaded by the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy, highlighted the long history of the Muslims in Mindanao and some of its most unforgettable chapters, including the Bud Dajo massacre and other such events.

The Jabidah narrative would become the seeds of the modern “Bangsamoro” struggle. The 56-year-old tragedy served as the triggering point for the Moro rebellion in Mindanao during the first Marcos presidency. In fact, it pushed the former governor of Cotabato, Udtog Matalam, to call for the independence of Mindanao from the Philippines and to form the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM). Further, former Lanao del Sur congressman Haroun al-Rashid Lucman filed an impeachment complaint against Marcos in the House of Representatives but unfortunately failed to gather enough congressional support, resulting in its ultimate dismissal. As a result, he became convinced that the Muslims in Mindanao should rule themselves instead — a conviction that led him not to seek reelection and instead establish the Bangsamoro Liberation Organization (BMLO) after the end of his term in 1969. Another result of this tragedy was the formation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and, subsequently, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) — the latter organization that now leads the BARMM government.

“This incident would not only expose the realities of covert military operations but would go on to set the fire of what would become a unified Bangsamoro consciousness,” said the BARMM Chief Minister Murad Ibrahim.

The commemoration of the Jabidah massacre is a form of recognition of the despair experienced by the Muslim people of the Philippines. It is an initiative towards healing the past, reconciliation and unity of all the peoples in the country.

The transitional Justice Bill and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Rights Bill are pending measures that could redress the pain of the past and not just of the BARMM government.