Deretsahan
An appeal to our Muslim community leaders
By Bebot Villar
LAST Tuesday, our Muslim brothers and sisters celebrated Ed’l Fitr.
Nabanggit ko ang ating mga kapatid na Muslim dahil gusto kong bigyang-diin na hindi na lamang sila sa Mindanao matatagpuan. There are now small Muslim communities in many cities. Halimbawa, in Pangasinan, we have our Muslim communities in Dagupan, Urdaneta and Alaminos.
Most of them left their homes in Mindanao to escape the conflict there na nagsimula ilang dekada na ang nakalipas. In their adopted communities today, ang ating mga kapatid na Muslim ay payapang naghahanapbuhay at nakikipag-kapwa-tao sa lahat.
But in like in many communities, siyempre, may mga mangilan-ilan sa kanila na matatawag na “bad eggs. ” These are the illegal drug traders na sumisira sa magandang community standing ng ating mga kapatid na Muslim sa kanilang mga adopted towns!
In Dagupan City for instance, for many years now, the Muslim community in Bonuan Binloc is notorious for being the source of illegal drugs in the region. Users from the city and neighboring towns go there to buy. Despite several arrests and raids conducted by PDEA agents and local policemen in the area, drug trading there continues to thrive.
Nagkaroon na rin ng mga dialogues in the past between the Muslim community leaders there and the city government but walang nangyayari dahil mukhang may nagbibigay ng protection sa mga illegal drugs traders doon. Sana naman, in the spirit of brotherhood, our Muslim community leaders there already begin to police their own ranks. I’m sure they know who the illegal drug traders are!
Deretsahan lang sa kanila. Their reputation and good standing in the community are being destroyed by their misguided brothers and sisters who are trading illegal drugs. Sa tutoo lang, matagal-tagal na ang problem diyan and I wish that one of their leaders will have the courage to stand up and clear their community of illegal drug trading in Pangasinan particularly in Dagupan City, once and for all.
Ng dahil sa kasamaan ng ilang Muslim sa adopted communities nila, nasasabi tuloy na pag Muslim ay masama. Hindi ito totoo at hindi dapat ganito ang kaisipan dahil we are all the same but only differ in religious beliefs, and still, the bottom line is – we all believe in God. Mapa-Muslim man o Kristiyano, pare-parehong tao na may kanya-kanyang adhikain sa buhay; plans for ourselves and families, at mga pangarap na gustong matupad.
Kung kaya’t sa nagaganap na usapan sa Bangsamoro Basic Law, iniisip ng marami na matatapos na ang hidwaang matagal nang nangyayari sa ka-Mindanaoan. Sana nga. Whatever is the root of the existing feuds between the people there, dapat matapos na nang tuluyan ang anomang hindi pinagka-kaunawaan na siyang nagiging dahilan upang magkaroon ng patayan at iba’t-ibang mga kaguluhan.
Lahat tayo, iisa ang pinagdadasal, ang magkaroon ng katahimikan, pagtutulungan at paguunawa sa isa’t isa, a peaceful community for our children and the next generation. We want peace. Let’s work together to have a drug-free community.
We need unity. We need each other to help achieve our dreams for our family and for our country.
* * * *
There is one public official in La Union worth emulating. While we cannot choose our relatives like in his case who he has a nephew na ang lakas din naman ng loob na magtulak ng shabu in the province. He may have thought he can get away with it just because his uncle is a vice mayor! Biro niyo, ang lawak pala ng kanyang area of operation! Well nagkamali siya!
Matapos siyang mahuli ng Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents sa isang buy-bust operation sa San Juan, La Union, bumulaga sa mga otoridad ang limang mga bayan at isang lungsod kung saan siya nagsu-supply ng shabu! So you can just imagine how many lives of young people he had ruined by supplying them shabu, how many families he had broken because of the conflicts he created inside the families.
Well, mabuti na lang at hindi siya kinunsinti ng kanyang uncle na si Vice Mayor Bonifacio Malinao ng Bauang, La Union. Malinaw ang sinabi ni Vice Mayor Malinao – he will not interfere in any way with his nephew’s case!
This should be the attitude of politicians whenever relative is caught red-handed selling or using illegal drugs. Hands off dapat tayo! Pabayaan natin silang matuto ng leksyon. Kasi pagkinunsinti sila, we give the wrong impression that what he or she did was right. Dapat ipamukha natin sa kanila ang kanilang pagkakamali and be made to suffer the consequences.
If we want to save our relatives from illegal drugs from further harm, we should let the law take its course. Dapat ang manaig dito ay ang greater good. Sa bawat pusher na makukulong, maraming buhay ang naisasalba.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
