President Aquino’s handling of the Sabah crisis reflects his political immaturity and social insensibility. First he tells the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to drop their guns, go back to Tawi-Tawi… and be arrested. Joke? Then he tells them to stop the aggression in order to save lives.
Our Muslim brothers went to Sabah ready to fight (and die) for what they believe is rightfully theirs or, simply, for what they believe is right. This viewpoint should have been the starting point of negotiation.
Besides, not to bear arms does not necessarily mean saving lives. Thousands of lives and millions of livelihoods are lost due to environmental degradation. Thousands more are lost due to inefficient and insufficient social services, while millions are lost because of poverty and hunger. Indeed, despite all these, some are surviving, but their survival level is what the bourgeoisie call, “What a life!” A system that brings about inequitable distribution of wealth and opportunities means death to millions.
There is historical proof of the Philippines’ claim to Sabah, aside from the more recent government documents and papers in the ’60s. The Office of the President seems to have no clue on these matters such that it opted to “lose” the letters from Sultan Kiram. Had these letters been addressed, this Sabah incident could have been avoided.
Seemingly, President Aquino sensed that he was losing the propaganda war because of the lost letters and the lost sense of history. In fairness to him, instead of declaring an emergency, he announced a conspiracy. But this angle is on hold as the state is still gathering evidence. What’s that? In Filipino, ano ba yan!
It would be good for P-Noy to view this issue from the standpoint of our Moro brothers and sisters, to communicate before he berates and, most of all, to study the political, cultural and social history of the people he is supposed to be serving.
—JULIE L. PO,
Linangan ng Kulturang Pilipino,
jlp704@yahoo.com