SC embarks on effort to strengthen PH’s shari’ah justice system
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Through a historic gathering here, the Supreme Court took a giant step for the further entrenchment of shari’ah justice in the country’s legal framework, 46 years after such a system was first established.
Shari’ah is a legal practice derived from the Qur-an which, in turn, governs the life of Muslims who are estimated to account for about 10 percent of the country’s population.
The country’s shari’ah justice system was built on Presidential Decree No. 1083 or the Code of Muslim Personal Laws (CPML) issued on Feb. 4, 1977, by then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“CMPL sought to assure Filipino Muslims that government protects their religion and their rights, that they are treated equally with the rest of the population, and that they are an integral part of the Filipino nation,” Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo told some 300 participants gathered at the Limketkai Luxe Hotel here for the two-day 1st National Summit on Shari’ah spearheaded by the Court in cooperation with the Philippine Judicial Academy and various development partners.
“While specifically referring to laws governing personal and family relations of Muslim Filipinos, shari’ah generally pertains to an Islamic way of life. And by integrating shari’ah into our judicial system, we recognize not only a legal dichotomy but in essence a political, religious, and socio-cultural one, as well,” Gesmundo said.
“But recognizing this dichotomy was not meant to separate us. Paradoxically, it was intended to bind us, for by integrating shari’ah into our judicial system, we bring to mind our own history, we acknowledge our own diversity, and we come face to face with our identity as a nation of multicultural influences born of heroic resistance, subdued through assimilations, liberated by democratic values, and now seeking harmony and peace through full integration as one people,” he explained.
Gesmundo pointed out that the summit seeks to “strengthen the foundations of shari’ah in our national legal framework” as part of the Court’s 5-year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations.
Apart from the chief magistrate, 12 associate justices of the Court attended the opening ceremony on Sunday. They were Justices Ramon Paul Hernando, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Henri Jean Paul Inting, Rodil Zalameda, Mario Lopez, Samuel Gaerlan, Jhosep Lopez, Japar Dimaampao, Jose Midas Marquez, Antonio Kho Jr., Maria Filomena Singh, and Marvic Leonen who chairs the Court’s committee on shari’ah justice.
Also in attendance were Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, BARMM Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., Special Presidential Assistant Anton Lagdameo, and justices of the Court of Appeals.
In his welcome remarks, Leonen described the summit as “historical.”
“The rich symbolism of this summit being held in Mindanao with the entire Supreme Court en banc being present cannot be understated,” Leonen said.
“If we are to deliver justice, our laws and rules of procedure must be inclusive. Inclusivity can only happen by acknowledging all our people’s traditions,” he added.
Along with the customary laws of indigenous peoples, shari’ah, according to Leonen, “already established sophisticated civil and criminal laws, and a political infrastructure” for Muslims prior to colonization.
But these systems of justice “became invisible as the hegemony of civil law tradition coming from Spain, and the common law-civil law perspective coming from the United States became dominant,” Leonen explained.
“Shari’ah is an essential part of Moro life and all those who have embraced Islam. Today, the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines, aware of our people’s histories, following our constitutional provisions, and with its collective desire for social justice, and its passion for inclusivity holds this first-ever national summit on the shariah to continue to correct historical injustice,” added Leonen, who negotiated for the government a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front prior to his appointment into the High Court in November 2012.
According to Gesmundo, Leonen’s committee will be studying the possibility of “expanding the jurisdiction of shari’ah courts to include both criminal and commercial cases, and assess the applicability of different punishments under shari’ah law for the greater offenses that may be considered, consistent with the rights enshrined in our constitution.”
Ebrahim lauded the effort of the Court to further entrench shari’ah into the national legal framework. It is “sending us a message of hope and empowering us to deliver justice to every Bangsamoro,” he said.
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