Greetings to our Muslim brothers during Ramadan
Alhamdulillah!
We greet our Muslim brethren on the feast of Ramadan, a monthlong period of fasting. I recall when the Muslim community and Christian sects, Catholics, and Protestants observed the feast of Ramadan and Christmas in the spirit of oneness in the Almighty God, regardless of our religious differences.
The spirit of national unity and oneness has never been as imperative as now with the creeping hegemonic thirst of China as it pokes fun at us through repeated incursions into our territorial boundaries. Shame on those genuflecting to China, encouraged by ex-president Rodrigo Duterte. Now, China says even Palawan is part of Chinese territory!
One of the most appreciated national government efforts to integrate cultural minorities in the South into the mainstream was the creation of the Commission on National Integration (CNI) in 1957, which benefited cultural minorities with full scholarships. I was one of them. We were guaranteed full tuition and allowances for our chosen degree up to the review for the board and obtaining licensure. The CNI benefited more than 2,000 scholars from 1957 until the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. merged the program with the Southern Philippines Development Authority, which turned out to be no more than a political accommodation.
If there is a more redeeming and meaningful program for the government to undertake, it is for the Commission on Higher Education to consider reviving full scholarships to underprivileged Muslim students through a competitive selection, giving them a chance to achieve their dreams of getting a college degree and licensure. Many far-flung municipalities in Mindanao, particularly in Sulu and Tawi Tawi provinces, still have unimaginable poverty rates of 50 to 70 percent. Many CNI scholars turned out to be worthy leaders and members of their respective communities.
I read that the first chairman of the CNI was Atty. Lugum Uka, a Maguindanaon who held a law degree from Silliman University in Dumaguete City, a school run by the US Presbyterian Board. Uka was a writer and student leader in his student days and has shown how Muslims can integrate and live in harmony and unity with non-Muslims. Uka became a prominent leader among the Muslims in the South; some consider him to be the unsung father of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Alhamdulillah!
MARVEL K. TAN, CPA,
captbeloytan@gmail.com
