DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 30 September) – I had this impulse to aptly draw a cartoon: “Joker in the pack bending over while holding a giant silver plate (not platter) with a giant silver bullet on it; balancing himself in an act of positioning it over the map of Sulu and the Sulu Sea; manifesting Tawi-Tawi proximate to North Borneo aka Sabah.
Headline reads: SC upholds validity of Bangsamoro Organic Law; declares Sulu not part of Bangsamoro region
Inconceivable! Last September 9, I initially thought that the Supreme Court decision to declare Sulu not part of the Bangsamoro region was inconceivable because it was so untimely.
“…But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allāh knows, while you know not.” [Surah al Baqarah 2:216]]
Why did it occur just when a dynamic BARMM (Bangamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) is politically realigning towards its first ever election? Was it all just a fail-safe plan? Is every Peace Agreement by political and legal machination designed to stall time and to self-destruct?
No wonder there’s erosion of trust and confidence from our midst but we chose to believe and we still chose to trust in the name of peace. The very peace that brought us together has shattered our shared aspirations into sharp shards which wounded not our leaders but the very fragile lives of our people.
Is this the Tipping Point needed by Sulu and the Bangsa Sug? After 20 years of intermittently just to break the deadlock band-aid solutions from the government and 28 years hiatus thereafter, the Time has ultimately come. Alhamdulillah.
For one, the long spell of chilling effect was broken not only for the Tausug people but for the rest of the Bangsamoro who were growing noisy, restless, paranoid as they vented their ire and frustrations, using socmed as platform. It was like jolting the hornet’s nest.
But after validating its source, I recovered by consoling myself that this is qadar (destiny), a test of faith replete of hikmah (wisdom) and it is up to the Raayat (constituents) along with its taumaas (elders) as well as kanakuraan (mandated leaders) to rise up to this challenge. Whether it turns out to be a nihmah (boon) or a nikmah (bane), will be their own doing and undoing.
Undaunted by its oddness and unexpectedness, some of us would view this never as an abject loss. But in fact as a rare opportunity to strengthen our 634-year old Sulu and its Royal Sultanate’s sovereign claim to autonomy and self-governance. After all, the Supreme Court ruling actually manifests a broader acknowledgment and respect of local aspirations and governance rights for Sulu.
Is this the time to implement the 1976 Tripoli Agreement after the 1996 Final Peace Agreement was dishonored as a mere statute? After ARMM was dissolved by a prefix “B” into BARMM, where is Word of Honor exiled to?
But always be mindful to give the other brethren in faith the prerogative to opt out since they already have a constitutional BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law) and a political entity that is BARMM. From Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), switching of negotiations? How will Sulu and its leaders navigate its course towards its realization of a small state nation like Singapura? Would it mean back to square one?
Undeniably, the legal hurdles relative to Sulu’s exclusion from BARMM is buttressed essentially by legitimate historic struggles of freedom fighters for right to self-determination (in defense of Agama, Hulah, Bangsa) and redress of historical injustices inflicted upon its indigenous peoples.
Significantly, I view it as a rebirth of a united Bangsa Sug to confront resolutely human security issues in the context of freedom from want and freedom from fear by upholding the Khilafah wal Amanah principles of Vicegerency and Trust.
As to how far the government would fulfill and uphold our legitimate claim to become a separate sovereign state from the Republic; so that Sulu unlike BARMM can regain its power to enter into relations with other states; handle its own concerns as regards to national defense and security, citizenship, foreign policy, and foreign trade- that is the crucial “No silver bullet on a silver plate” juncture!
The Sulu transition process is highly complex: time and budget allocation consuming. The legal foundation seems impossible for it to be immediately executory.
In such case of abrupt carve out of Sulu, can we legally invoke “Lex non cogit ad impossibilia” (The law does not compel the impossible) because to immediately execute the ruling is logistically impossible. How can Sulu along with its functional services operate, now that it is excluded from BARMM? Unless safeguards and mechanisms are already put into place, it’s highly unlikely.
In the interest of judicial equity and justice, BARMM and the national government must protect the rights of all involved. It is both a legal and moral imperative.
It must be seriously considered that transition and implementation to be effectively smooth and orderly requires careful planning, clear frameworks, and collaboration among stakeholders to address administrative, financial, and social implications. Its success demands comprehensive strategies and support systems that consider and respond to the needs of the affected communities in Sulu.
With all due respect, can we invoke the maxim “Actus curiae neminem gravabit“? the act of the Court shall prejudice no one, It is apparent that the ruling inadvertently imposes burdens and harm on thousands of displaced Sulu employees under BARMM; leaving them with sudden unpaid loans and unsettled financial liabilities; as well as security of tenure issues. Consequently, the burden of legal implications which unfairly impact on employees, learners, and beneficiaries, as well as immediate alleviation response to sudden repercussions such as job losses, to disruption of services without proper transition measures making hundreds of thousands of people suffer now rests heavily upon the shoulders of the Sulu provincial government.
Qur’anic verses would have sufficed to quell ambivalent feelings about the news, to dispel the job insecurities that gripped the hearts and minds of those directly impacted just because the ruling was “immediately executory.”
“And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Saabiroon (the patient).
Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: ‘Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.’
They are those on whom are the Salawaat (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones” [ Surah al-Baqarah 2:155-157]
Thus, when an Islamic Studies and Arabic Language (ISAL) ustadz called me up to voice out their feelings of uncertainties, I assuaged him with these verses, with the hope of legal mechanisms to ensure smooth transition process, and with the assurance that the loss would be compensated by Allah tenfold if we remain patient and steadfast just like those who patiently endure in the islands and hinterlands. They, who with contentment and faith in their hearts, look on quietly pleased at those who are now seated in power harboring no ill will or malice.
I firmly believe that it is but lawful that Sulu impacted employees be given financial relief, transition funding and aid. Likewise, proportionate share of block grants be allocated for Sulu, compensation for employees, technical assistance, and a clear budgetary framework during the separation proper as well as post-separation of Sulu in transition.
Verily, the Supreme Court ruling can never be regarded as unjust for as long as it won’t fail to account for the absence of transitory safeguards for Sulu employees during the administrative transition. I hope there will be adequate mechanisms to protect our people’s rights; to ensure a smooth changeover, so that the principles of fairness and due process will not be jeopardized.
Nonetheless, these looming uncertainties sow a riptide dissension and discord.
When endangered, to protect self-interests and self-preservation were the spontaneous defense mechanisms by those granted legitimate powers and those enjoying payroll benefits from BARMM. After all, it is not only halal nafaka (provision) for their family but a sense of security as well as in fulfilling amanah to the people. That is understandable for those hardest hit without any legal cushion to lessen its impact but still it was consequently assailed and not spared.
Thus, there were speculatory finger-pointing at the peace spoilers, ŵar brewers, local leaders, BARMM, national government, the chief negotiators: for the government then Marvic Leonen (now Supreme Court Justice and ponente of the ruling), and for MILF, Mohagher Iqbal, now Minister of Basic, Higher and Technical Education, whose idea of peace and justice was quoted by the former on the upper right hand page of the SC decision. True! There can be no Peace without Justice…for Our People!
With all due respect, I refuse to believe that the “Great Dissenter” of the Supreme Court, who’s purportedly known to favor “liberal and human rights-oriented decisions”would inadvertently not uphold the paramount interest of the constituencies because The People are the very reason why BARMM must be perpetuated. Grant the petition to exclude Sulu from BARMM if the law must but please do safeguard the inalienable rights of our people in the course of transition not to be deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law.
It is legally and morally imperative that our Raayat as rightful stakeholders must be democratically engaged and protected. Their holistic well-being must be at the core of any agreement for Peace and Justice. The vulnerable faces of indigency and destitution from our Raayat must be at the core of our heart at all times.
For without the people, our leaders, even our struggle and our aspirations for liberation from all forms of centuries-old-bloodshed, unpeace and injustices would be rendered irrelevant.
So, let us worry not about sitting in our coveted thrones with laurels, let us worry not about fame and power sharing, about block grants, about territory because this is a collective dream for the deliverance of our Own Blood, Our Own Life, Our Own Bangsa. This is our shared goal as living human beings to attain Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear to be savored by all in this lifetime, not only by the entitled few. Let us respect, honor, fulfill and uphold the Amanat. After all, Trust is Divine — never ever desecrate Trust lest out of folly you turn it porcine.
Now, whoever dares forbid it unjustly is heartless and does not deserve to be called humane. Ittaqillah!
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Warina Sushil A. Jukuy is a Tausug from Lupah Sug in diaspora, displaced twice from Sulu to Davao City in 1974 and again since 2009. She thrives as a peace warrior using mortar and pestle, pen and ink, colors and voice, and keyboard).