Consolidated Muslim cemeteries bill adopted by House panel

MANILA, Philippines — A substitute bill that would consolidate two separate proposals to create Muslim cemeteries in localities with a large Muslim population has been adopted by a House of Representatives panel.

During the hearing of the House Committee on Muslim affairs on Tuesday, a motion to adopt the consolidated version of House Bills (HB) No. 2587 and 3755 was approved by the committee chair and Lanao del Norte 1st District Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo.

However, the committee deferred deliberations on the still unnumbered substitute bill, as Dimaporo and the bills’ authors agreed to discuss the proposals during a physical meeting instead.

HB No. 2587 was authored by Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Adiong and Lanao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Yasser Balindong, while HB No. 3755 was penned by Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman.

“Just a little bit of a side note to our members of the committee that is here, we’ve drafted a substitute bill, merging the two versions regarding Muslim cemeteries — one version of Deputy Minority Leader Mujiv Hataman and another version authored by Reps. Yasser Balindong and Zia Adiong,” Dimaporo said.

“I would hope, unless there’s no big issues, but my intention for today is just to simply adopt the substitute bill so that we can merge the two bills into one.  And hopefully, in our next meeting, which would be a face-to-face, we can properly discuss the concerns or the opinions of the three different principal authors,” he added.

HB No. 2587, filed by Adiong and Balindong last July 2022, called for establishing Muslim cemeteries in areas with a significant Muslim population.  This is in response to problems encountered by Muslim families whose loved ones have died in areas where cemeteries are not necessarily catered for Islam traditions.

Under Islamic practices, the body of a deceased Muslim must follow the proper ritual washing, correct shrouding, and several prayers within the day.  Burial should be done within the day, and the body should not be desecrated.

Hataman’s HB No. 3755 filed last August 2022 differs because it calls for the creation of Muslim cemeteries in every major city and municipality so that Muslims living in different parts of the country would still be afforded the rituals and traditions despite living far from usual burial sites.

Under HB No. 3755, cities and municipalities inside the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) must set aside two hectares of land to create a public cemetery for Muslims.

Meanwhile, component cities inside Metro Manila will be asked to allocate a minimum of 3,000 square meters of land for the same purpose.  Due to space constraints, city governments are allowed to procure a space outside of the region, but it must still be accessible for its residents.

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