Crumbling wall

The hitherto volatile Muslim-Christian relation has been put to serious test anew with the recent carnage that took place in the sleepy riceland barangay of Sto. Tomas in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte on July 10 this year.

Two Maranao youths were found dead, their bodies bearing gunshot wounds  and their heads were  each severed  at a vacant lot owned by one of the alleged four Visayan perpetrators who belonged to a reputable family in the barangay.   After few weeks of manhunt, two were formally charged in court and one of them  was captured in Cebu by  police authorities. He is now detained at the Provincial Reformatory Jail in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.  A manhunt is ongoing for the other one while formal charges for the other two are now being prepared by authorities. Conflict over share of the proceeds of drugs or gun deals were among the angles being eyed by the probers. 

Right after the incident, people’s reaction, especially that of the non-Muslim residents in Sto. Tomas was a mix of uncertainty over their safety and aghast to the perpetrators. They practically fear, on the one hand, of an impending backlash from the relatives of the victims, which is characteristic of the Moro’s tradition of rido (clan-based vendetta), and blame, on the other  the perpetrators for causing such seemingly unforgivable violence in their midst.

Elementary school attendance was heavily affected. Only 50 out of 200 elementary students attended school even two weeks after the incident,  a school principal told this writer. The teachers, being mandated to report to work in the absence of a contrary official order,  surmounted insecurity by regularly attending classes.

The air of fear certainly affects not only the residents of Sto. Tomas. Neighboring barangays are now afraid to visit the place,  lest they be mistaken for the relatives of the perpetrators, exposing themselves  to the potential violence that the aggrieved families may afflict them. Even the employees of the local government are extra - cautious too. In fact, one preset activity in the barangay was subject to questions by those involved  whether it is safe to pursue it.

These and similar feelings prompted a meeting of concerned Muslim, Christian, and  government leaders from Lala, Sapad and Kapatagan towns on July 11, a day after the incident . Security forces from the Armed Forces and the Police were also part of said meeting which took place in the Function Hall of Kapatagan. 

 One observer, who’s been known to possess an “anti-Muslim” sentiment came out of the meeting with optimism. He told me he appreciated so much the declaration of Muslim leaders before the other delegates of the meeting who assured them that they will not allow nay tolerate rido-like tendencies or behavior among their members especially on the issue at hand.  Such leaders, who were aware that the crime did not have anything to do with faith but probably with drugs or gunrunning, urged in fact teachers and parents to let their children go to school as  they used to do before the bloody incident. Just as the Christians are wary of the past “Muslim-Christian” conflict in the 70’s, present-day Muslim leaders also felt the same, the observer said.

Said  declaration is a welcome development in the face of deep-seated mistrust especially among the Christian population or among the settlers (to be politically correct) towards our Moro neighbors, and vice-versa. And it is especially striking in that it somehow alters the well-entrenched bias of this observer towards the Muslims.

That July 11 meeting punctuated yet again of the importance of dialogue. Churches and government leaders should do similar activities more often. If the July 11 meeting initiated cracks of the wall of biases of this observer I spoke with, there is no reason that others of the same mindset will not reexamine themselves.

It was a breakthrough, and a contribution of  these communities to the  peoples’ quest for genuine peace in Mindanao.