By Manny Piñol
Greater than the national jubilation over the decision of Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte to accept the call to lead the country was the excitement among people who have long felt ignored and neglected by the largely Christian establishment – the Indigenous Tribes and the Muslims of the Philippines.
Rightly so.
Should Duterte win in 2016, he would be the first occupant of Malacañang Palace who could claim to represent the country’s Tri-People – Christians, Muslims and Lumads.
While Duterte is a devout Catholic and his father, former Governor Vicente Duterte, was a true-blue Cebuano, his mother, the late Soledad Roa Duterte, had both Maranao and Camayo blood in her.
The Maranaos are among the tribes in the Southern Philippines living in the periphery or vicinity of Lake Lanao who embraced Islam while the Camayos are the tribal people of Surigao and Agusan.
The Duterte matriarch was born in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte to a family which had Chinese, Maranao and Camayo lineage.
Duterte’s first-born son, Paulo, also married a Tausug-Maranao girl and his children have embraced Islam.
“I have grandchildren who are Muslim and Christian,” Duterte once said in explaining why he would like to see an end to the conflict in the Southern Philippines.
The blood ties to the marginalised Filipino groups could be behind the sympathy shown by Duterte to both the Muslims and the Tribal People.
When he was elected Mayor of Davao City, the first thing he did was to appoint Deputy Mayors who represented the different tribes living in the city – Kagan, which is the Muslim Tribe of Davao, the Bagobos, the Manobos, the Atas, the Maranaos, Maguindanaos and Tausugs.
Until today, all these Deputy Mayors perform official functions under Duterte’s leadership, settling disputes among the members of their tribes and even helping authorities identify the suspects in major crimes in the city, including the bombing of the airport, the wharf and the Catholic church.
Several years ago, at the height of the “Moro-phobia” resulting from the entry into the city of notorious Moro political families who bought properties in exclusive subdivisions bringing with them unruly bodyguards, the City Council of Davao passed an Ordinance imposing stiff penalties to subdivision owners who refused to sell housing units to Muslims from outside the city.
Every Christmas, Tribal People from the remote areas of the city, including those coming from areas outside the city, are provided free housing and food by the City Social Welfare Office so they could enjoy Christmas carolling among the rich families in the city.
Duterte instructed authorities to be lenient to Muslim traders, many of whom are involved in black market businesses.
“Hayaan nyo na sila. Mas mabuti na yan kaysa magkidnap pa yan,” Duterte told policemen who sought guidance on how to deal with Muslim vendors who sell knockdowns and even pirated DVD tapes.
But while he has a soft spot for the Muslims and the Tribal People in the city, he proved to be tough and uncompromising when the boundaries of the law are transgressed.
Following the bombing of the San Pedro Church by suspected Islamic extremists, Davao City police moved swiftly arresting all suspected radical Muslim personalities in the city.
A group of Muslim radicals who wanted to stage a rally in the Davao City to support Islamic Extremist Groups operating in the Middle East was personally confronted and stopped by Duterte.
“You try and do your rally here and I will kick your butts out of this city,” Duterte told the radical groups.
While he supports the search for peace in Mindanao, Duterte has openly questioned the Constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, especially the provisions which would allow the creation of an independent armed forces and police force in the Bangsamoro area.
He instead pushes for the establishment of two Moro Federal States, one for the tribes in the main island of Mindanao and another for the Moro tribes of the islands in the Eastern Part of Mindanao.
In a trip to Cotabato City earlier this year, Duterte told his Moro supporters that if he would be President of the country, the Bangsamoro could lay claim to one-fourth of the Presidency, referring to his quarter Maranao blood.
The Indigenous People may as well claim part of the Presidency thus making the probable next tenant of Malacañang a true “Filipino President” who represents the Tri-People of the country.
Many also believe that, just as he had accomplished it in Davao City, “President” Duterte could bring the different Philippines tribes together and bring peace to the country.
(Photo credit: Image of Rody Duterte and Philippine trip-colors designed by Marleo Reyes Munez. Photos of Filipino Muslims and Bagobos downloaded from Google.)
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