by Antonio C. Abaya
from Standard Today
Notice how politically correct CNN and the BBC were in their otherwise extensive reportage on the massacre in Maguindanao. Neither the BBC nor CNN mentioned the fact that Maguindanao is a predominantly Muslim province, or that the massacre was a direct result of the literally fight-to-the-death rivalry between an established Muslim political clan and a challenger Muslim political clan, both armed to the teeth.
As a result of the political correctness of CNN and the BBC, one can arguably conclude that millions of cable TV viewers worldwide have come to the conclusion that this kind of murderous politics is typical of the rest of the Philippines.
Only the other day, obviously worried about their safety, participants from Russia, Vietnam, Bhutan and Sri Lanka pulled out of an international mathematics competition to be held starting tomorrow in Iloilo City.
One can only guess how many thousands of tourists have cancelled holidays in Boracay or Baguio or Palawan, (or Iloilo City) not knowing that their destinations are a world away, in kilometers and political culture, from murderous Maguindanao.
And because at least 24 (or is it 30?) of the 64 known fatalities in this massacre were media persons – most of whom, from their names, were non-Muslims – our reputation as the most dangerous country in the world for journalists has just been engraved in stone for all posterity to remember.
I say, political correctness sucks.
An article by Ryan D. Rosauro in the November 29 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer – titled Why `rido’ persists in Maguindanao – tells it like it is.
“Clan feuding , more popularly known as `rido’ – which is blamed for the massacre –is a common occurrence in the social landscape of Maguindanao, where members of the Ampatuan clan virtually reign as political overlords.
“A study on the incidence of rido, done in 2005 by Abhoud Syed Lingga of the Institute for Bangsamoro Studies, found that all 28 towns (in Maguindanao) plus Cotabato City, were rocked by clan feuds…..
“Among the Maguindanaoan people, rido or `ukag’ is directly related to the concept of `kanaman,’ which pertains to a deep sense of personal dignity and honor, and self-respect.
“According to Professor Jamail Kamilan of the Mindanao State University, when this honor is violated , an aggrieved person avenges the psychological hurt to the extent of carrying out a killing – which in turn can invite retribution…..
“Political rivalry tops the major triggers of rido in Maguindanao, accounting for almost 20 percent of cases…In the Lingga study, the 218 clan feuds had resulted in 811 people dead and 369 others wounded….Clan conflicts infuse social discord; the enmity can last for generations that polarize residents in a community…..
“The Lingga study also asserts that rido `is a consequence of the absence of justice brought about by the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the justice system….Weak governance in the region aggravates this problem. For one, parties in a rido have easy access to guns that underpin their bloody campaigns against each other.
“For another, the social environment is ripe for those well-connected with or part of established political authorities to carry out violence almost with impunity. It’s as if the violation of one’s honor constitutes a challenge to formal authority. Or a challenge to formal authority violates one’s honor.
“In communities such as Maguindanao, where political office is almost like a personal possession, it is not surprising why rivalry in the elections could trigger vendettas.***
End of excerpt from the article by Rosauro.
The Ampatuans are the lords and masters of Maguindanao province. An Ampatuan sits as governor of the province, with his brother-in-law as vice governor The suspected leader of the massacre, Andal Ampatuan Jr., is mayor of Datu Unsay town, where a brother is his vice mayor. Another Ampatuan is mayor of Sharif Aguak town, with another brother as his vice-mayor. An Ampatuan is also governor of the entire Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), of which Maguinadanao is a part.
In Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, an Ampatuan is also mayor, while a nephew is vice-mayor. In Mamasapano town, an Ampatuan is mayor, while his cousin is vice-mayor.
In Ampatuan town, grand nephews of Ampatuan Sr. are mayor and vice mayor. Etc etc. This is getting monotonous, but you get the picture.
By challenging the Ampatuans for governorship of Maguindanao, Esmael Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and four other kin in the massacre, was poking his finger into the eyes of the Ampatuans. Which is why his relatives were massacred, along with dozens of other people who had nothing to do with their clan rivalry.
The Ampatuans are political allies of President Arroyo. In the 2004 presidential elections, Pres. Arroyo won in most towns of Maguindanao. In one town, her rivals did not get a single vote.
In the `Hello Garci’ tapes, made public in July 2005, Maguindanao was one of four predominantly Muslim provinces about which someone who sounded like Pres. Arroyo was recorded talking to someone who sounded like Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, discussing her “one M” (presumed to mean one million votes) during the 2004 vote count, and the male voice promised her “Pipilitin po namin.”.(”We will try our best.”)
No wonder that the first reaction of President Arroyo’s spokeswoman, the servile Lorelei Fajardo, was: “I don’t think the President’s friendship with the Ampatuans will be severed. Just because they’re in this situation doesn’t mean we will turn our backs on them.”
Naturally. If the Ampatuans were to sing about 2004 and 2007, Gloria Arroyo’s goose would be cooked. With friends like the Ampatuans, who are in a position to blackmail her, Gloria does not need enemies.
In the 2007 senatorial elections, the administration’s candidates scored a 12-0 sweep in Maguindanao, with Luis `Chavit’ Singson from faraway northern Luzon improbably topping the vote count, although he was only no. 23 nationwide. (This recalls the 1995 senatorial elections in which Juan Ponce Enrile, also of faraway northern Luzon, also improbably topped the vote count then, way ahead of a local Muslim candidate, Tillah, whose first name I cannot recall).
Since the 1949 elections, when “the birds and the bees” and dead people started voting in Lanao – another predominantly Muslim province – the Muslim parts of Mindanao have been the favorite sellers’ market for votes. Vote counts in Muslim Mindanao are usually three weeks to three months delayed in tabulation. And for good practical reasons.
Candidates for national offices – president, vice-president, senator – calculate how many votes they need in order to win, after tallying the votes from the rest of the country. Once they determine their deficits – 200,000, 500,000, one million – their buyers go to Muslim Mindanao and buy the votes they need from vote wholesalers, like the Ampatuans.
.
In my article of June 28, 2007, titled Moro-moro in Maguindanao, I wrote about the inability of the Comelec to arrest a provincial electoral official, Lintang Bedol (remember him?), in charge of Maguindanao, who could not produce the election returns that would have substantiated the clean sweep of administration candidates in his province, on the grounds that the documents had been stolen from him in a hotel in Marawi City. His dog might also have eaten the documents. To date, he remains at large.
I also wrote that “to put a stop to the recurrent moro-moro (of Manila-based national politicians buying votes from vote wholesalers in Muslim Mindanao), we have to make drastic changes in the way we conduct elections for national offices. The most sensible idea is to hold these national elections in Muslim Mindanao ahead of the rest of the country. At least two weeks ahead, with all the safeguards and security measures at the command of a Comelec with more guts and nerve than the present one….”
“By holding national elections two weeks ahead of the rest of the country, the Muslim provinces would no longer be corrupted by national politicians based in Metro Manila as their repository of winning votes that they can buy from corrupt vote wholesalers, who are usually the provincial feudal overlords themselves (or their proxies).
“Liberal bleeding hearts, concerned with political correctness, will complain that this will reinforce feelings of separateness among our Muslim brothers and sisters. But again I say, To hell with political correctness. If explained adequately to them, especially to their imams, most Muslims, I think, can be convinced that holding separate national elections would be no more discriminatory than Muslims going to their mosques on Fridays and Christians going to their churches on Sundays. ” *****
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