Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Today
January
25,
we
remember
with
grieving
the
tragic
event
that
took
the
lives
of
5
civilians,
44
members
of
the
PNP
Special
Action
Forces
(SAF)
and
18
members
of
the
Moro
Islamic
Liberation
Front
(MILF)
and other armed
Moro combatants.
Each
life
so
suddenly
ended
and
leaving
families,
communities,
and
our
nation
in
lingering
pain.
Despite
investigations
by
both
Houses
of
Congress
and
the
Department
of
Justice,
as
well
as
by
the
PNP
Board
of
Inquiry,
the
MILF,
and
the
International
Monitoring
Team
among
others,
the
truth
of
the
tragic
event
still
has
to
be
fully
known.
Unfortunately,
the
variations
in
the
initial
reports
of
these
bodies
indicate
that
the
way
to
this
truth
will
never
be
easy,
and
may
not
be
helped
by
further
investigation
at
this
time
when
the
electoral
season
has
begun.
Sadly,
looking
back
at
the
long
history
of
conflict
in
Mindanao,
there
have
been
many
incidents
that
still
cry
for
truth
and
justice.
These
include
the
Jabidah
massacre
of
1968
that
occurred
on
the
eve
of
the
Martial
Law
declared
by
the
dictator
Ferdinand
Marcos,
the
massacre
of
1,500
Moros
in
Tacbil
Mosque
in
Malisbong,
Palembang
in
September
1974,
the
killing
of
124
soldiers
on
Pata
Island
in
February
1981,
with
retaliation
brought
to
bear
on
more
than
a
thousand
civilian
victims,
and
the
burning
of
Jolo
City
in
February
1974
wherein
almost
10,000
were
killed
Muslims,
Christians
and
Chinese
alike
due
to
the
ensuing
armed
hostilities.
As
a
people,
we
still
need
to
learn
and
understand
the
history
of
the
peoples
of
Mindanao
and
undertake
the
necessary
healing
task
of
transitional
justice.
Let
us
however
strive
to
bring
this
healing
now
where
we
can,
even
as
our
efforts
for
justice
need
to
continue.
The
families
of
the
victims
of
Mamasapano
should
be
supported
in
their
basic
and
psycho-social
needs.
They
should
exemplify
our
efforts
at
healing,
not
division.
We
hope
that
small
discreet
initiatives
for
dialogue
and
reconciliation
among
these
torn
and
suffering
families
and
communities
bear
fruit
and
be
allowed
to
grow.
Let
us
also
realize
that
Mindanao
and
the
country
have
had
many
stories,
not
just
of
conflict,
but
also
of
interfaith
and
intercultural
dialogue
and
peacebuilding.
Let
us
continue
to
nurture
these
national
and
local
efforts
to
bring
healing,
restorative
justice
and
reconciliation
to
individuals
and
communities
affected
by
conflict
and
violence
in
Mindanao.
These
countless
decades
of
peace
efforts
and
small
steps
taken
collectively
by
a
multitude
of
actors
and
communities,
both
here
and
around
the
world,
have
led
us
to
celebrating
the
signing
of
the
Comprehensive
Agreement
on
the
Bangsamoro
(CAB),
not
too
long
ago.
We
therefore
appeal
to
all
Filipinos,
and
especially
our
legislators,
to
find
the
will
and
the
peace
of
heart,
to
support
and
pass
a
Bangsamoro
Basic
Law
(BBL)
faithful
to
the
peace
agreement
and
the
aspirations
it
is
founded
upon.
For
those
who
have
fallen,
and
especially
for
the
bereaved
who
face
the
future,
let
us
grasp
the
peace
that
is
at
hand!