MANILA (UCAN): Philippine lawmakers led by Muslim convert and senator, Robin Padilla, passed a bill seeking to criminalise discrimination —including profiling and refusing employment based on religion or race—on August 17.
Padilla claimed that those from religious minorities like himself suffered discrimination in the workplace because of their faith.
“I did not feel the discrimination when I was still a Catholic. We are a Catholic nation so being one is the norm. But when I became a Muslim, then I became the exception. Things have changed, especially in the workplace when I began to work with fellow actors who were Christians,” Padilla told reporters on August 18.
He said that the country needs a law to level the playing field between Christians and non-Christians by imposing sanctions on those who discriminate based on creed and race.
“We need to protect the rights of all Filipinos by having a law that protects all Filipinos from discrimination. If a person is found guilty, he or she will be penalised with a jail term of at least six years and a fine of at least 100,000 pesos [$14,000],” Padilla said, adding that punishment cannot be the only solution and there is also a need to educate the young.
Many Catholics still believe that if one belongs to an indigenous tribe, the person worships nature or he or she does not have any formal religion or creed. But doesn’t the Philippine Constitution guarantee freedom of religion free from any restraint?
Prospero Kalusig
The bill aims to address racial discrimination in the workplace by providing seminars and talks on the topic, as well as mandatory lectures on Philippine history and culture.
“Education is the key. The root cause of discrimination is ignorance. If we educate the mind, positive things would surely happen,” Muslim leader, Rasheed Wahab Jaafar, said.
Meanwhile, Lumad leader, Prospero Kalusig, said the bill would not only protect Muslims but indigenous peoples who also yearn for equal representation with the Catholic majority.
“Many Catholics still believe that if one belongs to an indigenous tribe, the person worships nature or he or she does not have any formal religion or creed. But doesn’t the Philippine Constitution guarantee freedom of religion free from any restraint?” Kalusig asked.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
Philippine authorities estimate that of the total population of 110 million, over 79 per cent are Roman Catholic while nine per cent belong to other Christian groups. Muslims comprise around five per cent of the total population.
Muslims are not well-represented or even represented at all in the national consciousness from politics to entertainment, including, but not limited to the education sector, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos said in a 2021 report.
Even worse, when Muslims are depicted at all in popular media, these materials present them as the ‘other’ and feature long-held [and false] stereotypes, such as deceitfulness and violence
National Commission on Muslim Filipinos
“Even worse, when Muslims are depicted at all in popular media, these materials present them as the ‘other’ and feature long-held [and false] stereotypes, such as deceitfulness and violence,” it added.
“A similar trend may be observed in news reports or even in movies: Crime-related headlines involving Muslim suspects also needlessly include the adjective ‘Muslim’,” the commission said.
In one of its provisions, the bill sought positive Islam representation to overcome the negative Muslim stereotypes.
“In this bill, even teachers and parents could be held liable if they are not careful of their comments and standards of evaluation not only of Muslims but those who belong to other religious sects,” Padilla added.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference on Indigenous Peoples said racial and ethnic discrimination has colonial and historical underpinnings.
“Religious and racial discrimination did not arise from nowhere. They are the products of our country’s historical and colonial experience, which, from the start, was motivated by a ‘divide and rule’ mindset: encouraging Christian Filipinos to fight against Muslims developed feelings of distrust between these two groups,” the commission’s executive secretary, August Abuso, said in an online statement.
In 2014, Philippine bishops welcomed the enactment of the Bangsamoro Organic Law which provided the basic structure of government for Muslim provinces in Mindanao.
“The effort the government has taken to arrive at an agreement acceptable to all Filipinos underscores the premium that must be placed on the political and territorial integrity of the entire country. History—guided by The Lord of History—has fashioned our nation as one. Let us keep it one—in that variety of ethnicities, cultures, languages and peoples that makes it one of the most alluring pieces of Divine workmanship in the world,” said the bishops in their pastoral letter.
