Muslims in Mindanao

Upon entering the Bishop Querexeta Formation Center of the Prelature of Isabela, the visitor is confronted with the sight of a bullet-ridden jeep. This was the vehicle which five church workers used when they were ambushed by "lawless elements" on the early morning of 14 February 1999 on their way to the center where they were to participate in the "Alay Kapwa" (Lenten Offering) seminar.

The reason for the massacre? Most probably the fact that they were Christians, the minority in this predominantly Muslim province.

This vehicle stands prominently as a reminder of a massacre which did not need not to be. It also stands for the state of the island with which its inhabitants are constantly confronted with: the ever-present danger of being taken hostage or killed because of a person's faith.

Most feared
Merely an hour’s boat ride from Zamboanga City on the southern Mindanao mainland, Basilan is perhaps one of the most feared islands in the country. Prominent among the "lawless elements" in recent years has been the dreaded terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group, whose leader, a former student of the Claretian Missionary school here, demanded that all crosses on the island be removed.
The town of Lamitan [population 55,000, with 36,000 Catholics] is merely a two-hour ride from the capital town of Isabela. Near midnight of June 1, 2001, members of the Abu Sayyaf group, together with their hostages (the majority of whom were Caucasians) from a tourist resort in far-off Palawan, entered the church compound, consisting of the St. Peter the Apostle Parish, the convent of the Dominican sisters and the church-run Dr. Jose Torres Memorial Hospital.

Harrowing experience
It was a harrowing experience, says Sr. Sulpicia Wate OP, administrator of the local Claret School. Although they were able to escape from the men who entered their convent that night, there were some incidents which they themselves cannot simply understand. Some say it was a miracle.
But that was not the case for some persons inside the church or the hospital, some of whom were killed or taken as hostages. One of the hostages was a nurse who was among those killed [together with an American protestant] in the bloody conflict between the hostage-takers and government forces.
Many in Lamitan, including its parish priest, Father Cirilo Nacorda, believe that the Abu Sayyaf group was in collusion with three high military officers during the Lamitan siege.

Senate hearings

"The Abu Sayyaf group was still inside the church compound when the military surrounded the area," relates Danny Bentoy, a resident of Lamitan. "But for some reason, the soldiers were told to leave their positions for a briefing." Right thereafter, the Abu Sayyaf casually moved out of the town.
There have been several senate hearings on accusations by the Lamitan people against the military men (two generals and a major). "A draft of the decision recommending a court martial against the officers involved was released in 2002, but we have not heard of it again," Bentoy said.

He stood as witness during the hearing. When the military moved out of their positions, he and other armed civilian volunteers tried to battle with the escaping bandits. "Personally, I was scared because the enemy here is the government, the military. But that time I was willing to risk my life, for the sake of my family. Up to the present I do not feel safe."

Martyred missionary
Claretian Father Rhoel Gallardo is one of the (seven) martyrs of Mindanao. He and 57 other teachers and students of the Claret School in Tumahubong village were taken hostage on March 20, 2000 by the Abu Sayyaf Group. It was from this same village that the five church workers came from when they were ambushed and killed in 1999.
The hostages suffered immensely during their ordeal of hunger, thirst, threats and fear in the hands of the rebels who believed that executing Christians would please Allah. After 44 days, their Calvary ended with the killing of four of the hostages during a conflict between the rebels and the government forces. Father Rhoel was one of the victims.

Normal life?
Nearly four years have passed, but the traumatic experience among the teachers and children is still fresh, though nobody shows any sign of this. During a recent visit to Tumahubong, one observes that life goes on as normal.
Tumahubong grew from a community of migrant workers, both Muslims and Christians, for the rubber plantation, now a cooperative, after its foreign
owners left the area.
Each morning a truck collects the workers to be distributed around the plantation. Shortly thereafter, Claretian Father Noel Daduya, director of the Claret School and parish priest of the St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, walks over to his school, followed by the teachers and the children from different parts of the village.
Early evening, the community block rosary moves from one household to another.

Daily uncertainty
But for Father Noel, each days is a day of uncertainty; nobody can foretell what will happen. You begin the day as if it is your last.
Definitely, there have been threats, says Father Noel. There are some who come and warn him not to leave his convent during the day. Much to his dislike, he has been given security by the military.
When he goes to the nearby chapel to say Mass, the armed men ride behind his jeep. In fact, after the 2000 hostage-taking, the military has camped beside the school. Another camp is a stone's throw from the convent.
Despite all these crosses, Bishop Martin Jumoad, the third bishop of the Prelature (23% Catholics in a population of over 300,000), believes that the people have been experiencing "a peaceful environment" for the past year. There hasn't been any direct assault on the people by any lawless elements. The reason, probably, lies in the fact that the bandits have dispersed with the presence of American troops a few months ago, during the "Kalimantan" [the military mutual assistance program.] The people are even grateful to the Americans for reconstructing the badly maintained circumferential road (encircling the whole island), even moving into areas considered "rebel areas" or prone to ambushes.

Reaching out
The Church has been reaching out to the victims of atrocities in the prelature, particularly to the hundreds of widows whose husbands were killed by rebels, through psychological trauma healings. Many of the killed/beheaded were Christians living in villages which are the breeding grounds of the Abu Sayyaf Group. But there are also widowed Christian wives whose husbands belong to the ABG. Compared to the other women, they suffer more because they are completely ostracized by the community.
Recently Bishop Jumoad went to neighboring Malamawi Island to distribute certificates to 60 Muslim men and women who participated in one of the Prelature's adult literacy programs, with the cooperation of the Philippine Business for Social Progress, a non-government organization supported by several business establishments in the country. Malamawi is said to be a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group, where one of its leaders, Abu Sabaya, has his residence.
The Prelature has been galvanizing inter-religious dialogue, including among the different Muslim tribal communities, the Yakan and Badjao, and offering them programs like the literacy program. However, Bishop Jumoad explains, "We do not proselytize them. These programs are geared to liberating them in order that they are able to read and write and also give them self-confidence, that at last they are a person of value, a person to be respected."<WM