Proposed Muslim-only ID is discriminating: Bai Alonto
Talks about a proposal for a Muslim-only ID as an act to counter terrorism and aid national security measures have been circulating, following the Marawi siege.
This has been discussed as an effort to create a system that may assist authorities in identifying possible terrorists and persons of interest.
Such a proposal has raised many debates. Some are supporting the proposal, but there are also others that are against it.
Bai Norhata Alonto, a Muslim resident of Marawi and wife of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Alonto, shared her opinion on the matter and why it should not be implemented.
"Why not propose for everybody to have an ID and indicate if they are Muslim or non-Muslims?" Bai said, to make the proposal equal.
She added that the proposal “is still discriminating because why do you have to identify by religion?"
"In the past, they tried to identify if you were a convert-Muslim or an originally-born Muslim, and my husband opposed that, he said: 'Why? What is wrong? Religion is just man-made, but you cannot discriminate the person.' So we are against the Muslim-only ID," Bai pointed out.
Recently, things have taken a turn to propose the creation of a national ID system instead, but the proposal was reportedly not among the priorities of Malacañang. /