By Samira Gutoc
Readying for the opening of shops here in Lanao and Iligan, we in chatrooms are talking about our woven products, agricultural sufficiency, and many more.
Much momentum was lost because of the pandemic. Evacuee weavers were just beginning to capture platforms in World Trade Center events for instance and gaïn “sukis ” along the way.
For a tribal community like mine who depends on crowds for selling their ware, the advent of COVID19 doubly added burden to us as we need to face bravely two wars in our lives, the evacuation, and dïsease.
The business sector must realize that uplifting Mindanao is not just through legislation like the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law).
We raised the concern on connectivity and transport because facilitating orders and delivery requires understanding the map, literally in Mindanao. And it doesn’t help that dislocation from armed operations is still happening to this day. During a Holy Month of Ramadan week ago, a Saudi Ampatuan town armed exchange in Maguindanao added killed two children and 6000 displaced.
They are our vulnerable sector in the ARMM because their lives are always covered with fear and danger because of war wherein lives are taken because of bullets, poverty, discrimination, and other societal diseases that have been giving them pains and multiple burdens.
We want to the National Capital Region to follow up on the help that we have been asking for. Sadly, there is still no recognition for our people to be given the Social Amelioration Program they are not chosen or listed by DSWD.
That is why we are demanding for a ceasefire and a call to the United Nations and the World Health Organization to monitor and ensure that no war further persist especially between the armed elements from both the government and rebel sides. This has been my appeal and MP Sinarimbo committed to bringing this matter up to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao CommanderMurad in their meeting with Mindanao Humanitarian Team where we are part of the Civil Society Organizations.
But what breaks my heart is the fact that Ramadan has not fully culminated yet and the tragedy of the children recently buried is despicable. I cannot believe when I heard the news that more than 10o0 families from Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao where forced to abandon their homes and find shelter as the bloody encounters between the military from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) took place.
The conflict started even before Ramadan ended and spread violence and bloodshed even as the rest of the Muslim community were deep in Eid’l Fitr. Old men and even children were not spared, as communities raced to save their lives.
I deeply grieve and feel such a strong lamentation in my heart, and I appeal to former AFP Chief of Staff and current Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Carlito Galvez, Major General Cirilito Sobejana, Major General Diosdado Carreon, at BARMM Chief Minister Al-Haj Murad to conduct an investigation and find out what really happened so we can stop violence, hatred, and further bloodshed to spare the innocent civilians who are not aware of this quagmire. Through this dialogue, we hope and pray that they can come up with action plans and prevent it from happening again.
Hence, my thought is this, we need to put disease prevention and conflict prevention together. Else the wounds of war would continue to deepen.
