Iranun tribe sees recognition in new Bangsamoro entity

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 3): Iranun tribe sees recognition in new Bangsamoro entity

Ethnic Muslim Filipinos belonging to the Iranun tribe mainly in Maguindanao and partly in Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato are hopeful of finally gaining their own identity in the Philippine socio-political setting through the creation of the proposed Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.

Mayors of Parang, Buldon, Barira and Matanog in Maguindanao said they are confident Congress will consider adopting a provision in the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) bill that seeks to lower population requirement for a district from the national standard of 250,000 to 150,000, as proposed in the measure.

Officials of the four Iranun towns, through Parang Mayor Ibrahim Ibay Jr., furnished government peace panel chairperson Miriam Coronel-Freer a copy of their petition for the creation a separate Congressional district for them, during a public forum hosted here by the Maguindanao provincial government recently.

“We long for a separate district for us to gain representation to the national body politics,” Ibray told the    ManilaBulletin in an interview.

Ibay, former speaker of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) legislature, said their tribe has been living in a quandary over its socio-political identity in the region.

He said majority Maguindanaons associate Iranuns with Maranaos of Lanao provinces because of the similarity in their dialect, culture and traditions. But the Lanao people consider them Maguindanaons due to their geo-political association with Maguindanao.

There are also minority Iranuns in Kapatagan, Balabagan and Malabang towns in Lanao del Sur and in the town of Alamada in North Cotabato who are not properly represented in higher levels of government, Ibay said.

Surprisingly, a politician of full Iranun descent, Datuk Seri Utama Pandikar Amin bin Haji Mulia, was even able to flourish in Malaysian politics where he is currently the incumbent speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. He was previously a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Mulia, in his recent visit in Cotabato City, had proudly said that he was an Iranun but expressed disappointment with the contrasting political landscapes in Malaysia and the Philippines.

Ibay, who had served the defunct Shariff Kabunsuan province as acting governor, said the establishment of the Bangsamoro political entity in pursuit of the government peace deals with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be a potential answer to their age-old quest.

The BBL, which is pending in Congress, will put in place new entity to replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). It also seeks to lower the population requirement for Congressional zoning from 250,000 to 150,000 for the proposed Bangsamoro parliamentary.

At the recent public forum here on the BBL and anti-criminality planning for Maguindanao, Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu endorsed the petition of  Iranun for a separate district.

http://www.mb.com.ph/iranun-tribe-sees-recognition-in-new-bangsamoro-entity/