Querol crowned 1st Sultan of Panay

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — In a crowd of several dignitaries and around 1,000 Muslims among others, Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol, Jr., director of the Police Regional Office-6, was enthroned as Sultan of Muslim communities in Panay Island.

The enthronement ceremonies, done Sunday afternoon at Camp Martin Delgado here in the city, made Querol the first crowned Sultan in Panay.

The event was witnessed by his brother, retired police director Vidal Querol, former Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia; DILG Undersecretary for peace and order Rico Puno; and Sultan Hadji Abdullah Topaan Disomimba, Sultan of Masiu, who is also a town mayor of Tamparan in Lanao del Sur and Chairman of the 16 Royal Houses of Lanao del Sur.

Disomimba confirmed the move of the Muslim communities in Western Visayas to appoint Querol as Sultan of Panau.

Sammy Hadjimanan, Sultan of Bayabao and the spokesperson of the United Federation of Muslim Association in Western Visayas, said that the Querol's enthronement was a historic event since this it was the first time that the island will be under a sultan.

"With Querol as sultan, we expect that the Muslims here will be more cohesive, and his leadership among us will also help clear the many misconceptions about the Muslims," Hadjimanan said.

He cited that Muslims are oftentimes unfairly associated with Abu Sayyaf , Moro Islamic Liberation Front and other rebel groups in Mindanao. But Muslims found a peaceful environment in Western Visayas. "We don't have problem in dealing with our Christian brothers here," Hadjimanan said.

Querol, a Muslim revert, said he was humbled by the distinction and honor given him by his Muslim brothers to serve them as the Sultan of Panay. "Being the first Sultan in history of Panay Island is truly a great honor and privilege but it also carries a lot of challenges," he said.

As Sultan of Panay, Querol pledged to make the Muslim communities in the area as active partners for the economic development of the island and on the maintenance of peace and order.

Querol has been known to tap the Muslims in the barangay peacekeeping operations, a comprehensive and catch-all strategy that seeks to empower all stakeholders to share the responsibility of peacekeeping and order toward self-policing, which he is strictly implementing in all barangays region-wide since he assumed as director of PRO-6.

With about 10,000 Muslims in the region, Querol said they could be very significant partners in the police's peacekeeping dities.