The BBL and Me
“You’ve got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes
are oddly made and people whose skin is a different shade”…
These are the words of a haunting song from the blockbuster
musical South Pacific.
Today, the country is seriously divided on the passage of
the Bangsamoro Basic Law. But if you ask those who are against it if they have
read the law, most of them will say “No”, or “I don’t have to.” Their opinion
has most probably been formed on the basis of what they hear on tv or radio or
what they read in the papers.
I carefully read the draft over the Holy Week, considering
it something of a “penance” as it does take a lot of patience and concentration
to plod through the document. And frankly, I couldn’t see much that was
alarming or that would merit throwing it out of the window. Maybe there are
improvements that can be made by those who live and breathe the law and the
economy and politics. But I can’t find anything that would make me reject it.
Taking advantage of the calm quiet of our weekend home in
Malarayat, I decided to make the draft the focus of my Lenten reflection. After
all, the suffering and crucifixion of Christ can be seen as His offering of
Himself in order to save humanity.
His words rang in my mind – “Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do.”
This from a man who could command the wind and the sea; who
could heal the sick and make the lame walk; who could rise from the dead; who
could call a group of fishermen to establish an institution that has survived
two thousand years and attracted the best and the brightest into its folds.
This from a ManGod who willingly suffered the humiliation of
being found guilty of heresy, of being stripped of his clothes, of being
scourged at the pillar, of having been crowned with thorns, of carrying
his cross and being crucified.
If He could forgive all that, can we not find it in our
hearts to reach out and help our brothers and sisters in Mindanao? To open our
hearts and our minds to their plight as among the Filipinos who have the lowest
human development indices in the country? To help them find the peace that will
stop their children from crying in the night, or suffering injuries as the
collateral damage of continuous war? To help the families in Mindanao –
Muslims, Christians, indigenous peoples - to live in harmony and enjoy the opportunities
of education, of housing, of health care, of sustainable jobs, that can only
come as the dividends of peace?
I believe that all of us have biases and prejudices. When we
were young, we were taught or may have overheard our elders say that Moros
cannot be trusted, that they are lazy, that they don’t pay debts. But we also
heard them call the Chinese pejorative
words such as “Instik Beho”, or heard them talk of hatred against the Japanese
who tortured and killed our relatives, or of to be wary of Negroes when you go
the US. The list of no-nos against
people who are not like us goes on and on.
As the song says, we are taught to hate or to avoid those whose eyes are oddly made or whose skin
is of a different shade. Or who speak a different language. Or who are not as
educated. Or who are poor.
I believe in my heart that most of the anger and distrust
that is now being directed at the BBL is due to deep seated biases and
prejudices we may not even be aware we hold in our hearts. It is unfortunate
that Mamasapano happened when it did.
Quite independently of the circumstances surrounding it, it resurfaced
our deep-seated prejudices against the Muslims. And it overflowed into the
discussions on the BBL, when one had really nothing to do with the other.
But if we think about it, we have negotiated with the
Hukbalahaps when they were wreaking havoc in Central Luzon. We have negotiated
with the NPAs and communists to lay down their arms and to participate instead
in our democratic processes and in our economy. We have negotiated with
indigenous peoples who have blocked important infrastructures in their communities.
We have slowly welcomed the Japanese into our country and
buy their products and have forgiven them the atrocities that we suffered at
their hands. We have come to respect the Chinaman who started as a taho vendor
or a stevedore at the shipyards and have risen to head conglomerates through
sheer hard work, native intelligence, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Maybe, just maybe, we can do the same with the Muslims in
Mindanao.
Let us think of Christ as He hung on the cross. Let us
forgive all those who may have hurt us and offer our hand in friendship. Let us
offer them the gift of peace and development so that they, too, can enjoy the
fruits of their labors and help the country continue to move forward as a
Rising Tiger of Asia. We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to our children and
grandchildren. We owe it to our God or Allah or whatever deity we believe in.
Let us pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law. May the creator of the
universe bring peace into our hearts so that we can rise with Christ into a new
dawn.
