DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 10 Oct) – Religious leaders in Mindanao have vowed on Wednesday to revitalize their role in peace building and sustainable development in the island and called on the re-inclusion of Sulu in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
In its founding meeting at the Blue Lotus Hotel here on Oct. 8-9, the Mindanal Religious Leaders Conference (MiRLeC) – which is composed of Catholic and Protestant bishops, Muslim and Lumad leaders – issued a statement calling “political leaders to observe sobriety, honesty and peaceful campaign endeavors as they engage our communities and electorates.”
Leading MirLeC is Bishop Edwin A. dela Peña, of the Prelature of Marawi, representing Mindanao Catholic bishops.
Aside from Dela Peña, other signatories of the statement include Dr. Muhammad Nadzir S. Ebil, representing Muslim religious leaders; Timuay Jerry L. Datuwata, of the indigenous peoples; Rev. Dennis L. Magno, of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines; and Bishop Genesis T. Uding, of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.
Other participants of the conference include Archbishop Emeritus of Cagayan de Oro Antonio Ledesma and Archbishop Emeritus of Cotabato Orlando B. Quevedo.
The group took off from what the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) started way back in 1996. All three convenors of the BUC – Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla, United Church of Christ of the Philippines Bishop Emeritus Hilario Gomez, and Dr. Mahid Mutilan of the Ulama League of the Philippines – have since passed on, Mutilan first in 2007 and Capalla last in January this year.
MirLeC urged “peace stakeholders and duty bearers to safeguard the gains of the peace process, most especially the re-inclusion of Sulu in the [BARMM].”
It likewise enjoined the Armed Forces, Philippine National Police, national line agencies and the local government units in various areas of the island to participate the Mindanao Week of Peace from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., of the Office of the Presidential Adviser of Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), said on the first day of the conference, said that “we have a tall order ahead of us” as the BARMM will hold its first parliamentary elections next year. “The national government is committed to ensure a peaceful, credible and orderly conduct of political exercise,” he added.
“I humbly call on you religious leaders to lend your voices of reason as we pave the way for a peaceful political transition in the Bangsamoro,” Galvez said.
In an interview, the former secretary of national defense and AFP chief of staff said that during the last Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, there was an arrangement established with the MILF’s base commanders to refrain from bringing firearms during campaign and election period, especially in areas of concern. (Richel V. Umel / MindaNews)
