Whatever her political opponents say, it is now a fact that her government has moved forward with the peace process. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million Muslims crowded colorful tents set up in muddy fields in the outskirts of Cotabato City for what Muslim scholar and university president Michael Mastura called a ‘shura.’ This is the Muslim version of ‘a democratic consultation’. Those who have no real knowledge of the Koran and Muslim politics are sometimes misled by critics who say Islam and democracy are incompatible.
But the May 30 shura in Cotabato City proved this is not necessarily true. John Esposito and John Voll, in Islam and Democracy (London: Oxford University Press, 1996), argued that Islam and Democracy were compatible and we must look for reasons other than the Koran or Muslim teaching for authoritarianism in the Muslim World in general and the Arab World in particular. The reasons lie elsewhere." Those who say Islam and democracy are compatible cite "the principle of the "shura". It is basically a decision making process – consultative decision making. The debate among Islamic scholars on whether the process is obligatory or merely desirable is ongoing.
But Filipino Muslims voted, as it were with their feet by coming in droves for the meeting in Cotabato for what the respected Mastura said was a shura-like democracy, shura is open to debate or interpretation but it is a different matter altogether in practice and its development as an institution in a Muslim democracy. Last Thursday the MILF consultations in the presence of the Bangsa Moro were also attended by government officials, the military and police.
Because of the ‘shura’ the government will have to reckon not just with the negotiating panel but with all Filipino Muslims. After the death of Hashim Salamat and the ascendancy of Ibrahim Murad, as leader there was a need to revalidate MILF’s right to negotiate with the government on behalf of the Bangsa Moro and that is exactly what it did, Mastura added in a telephone interview with this column from Maguindanao.
Still, both MILF leaders and government officials remain cautious about the outcome of peace talks. The significance of the shura lies in giving authority or legitimacy for the MILF peace panel to sit across the table with government negotiators. That was an important step. It is a signal that the government will have to be more serious with peace negotiations.
Although, Mastura is a dedicated federalist, he did not push for his preference. At this point, he said, there are a number of options on the table that includes federalism. So does independence or to be a protectorate as it had been in the past. The step was taken by Bangsa Moro to give leverage to the negotiating panel headed by Chairman M. Iqbal to take up what Mastura called ‘the totality of relationship with the Manila government’ and not just about concessions to be dangled by the government.
This is one of the reasons why the federal option is so attractive to both the government and the Bangsa Moro. It would give the Muslims the latitude for self determination while remaining within a federal republic of the Philippines. The shura was a culmination of a series of talks between the MILF panel and government negotiators which both described as hopeful. It could be the much awaited breakthrough to end a three-decade separatist conflict that has killed at least 120,000 people and made investors stay away from the Philippines.
I would certainly reject any allusion that if we legalize jueteng, we might as well legalize the Abu Sayyaf, crime, etc., etc. It does not follow. Jueteng and Abu Sayyaf have their particularities and cannot be lumped together simply because both are ‘illegal’. Neither can jueteng be condemned because it is a form of gambling while other forms are ‘legal and allowed’. It boils down to a class war if we allow the rich to indulge in games of chance but not the poor. Both rich and poor have better uses for their money, but who is to say that only the rich should be allowed because pity the poor. The Church, which enjoys tax free status?
Jueteng is the poor man’s game of chance. It is not difficult to understand why it has become part of his culture. There is no way to quantify what it represents to him and why he should gamble the last centavo in the family till. It can also be said against those who do not want it legalized that they have a bias against the poor. In effect, they would not like the poor to hope or dream.
What seems clear is that it is not concern for the poor that animates the Senate jueteng investigation but a poor attempt at recapturing the melodrama that attended Erap’s removal from office. The reasoning goes that if Erap was removed from office because of jueteng so can President GMA. Unfortunately, the two cannot be compared.
It would be wishful thinking that a people’s revolution can be inspired by Archbishop Cruz who is often described as the new Cardinal Sin. The saying that history repeats itself, once as a tragedy and the second time as a farce, has never been more true than it is with the jueteng drama. More pointedly I object to using the Church for political battles. No matter how commendable Archbishop Oscar Cruz’s fearless crusade and what a report described as his catchy sound bytes while he sits by jueteng operator Wilfredo Mayor spill the beans. Neither is it to say that the accused are not guilty. It will have to be determined elsewhere as in a court of law, for one. It is about the weakness of an obvious political ploy by the Opposition to repeat history. It is not working.
The Opposition’s efforts to dislodge President GMA would be better expended if they now help to institutionalize the removal of presidents or prime ministers without using EDSAs.
Email: cpedrosa@edsamail.com.ph or cpedrosaster@gmail.com