House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, shown here delivering a speech at a recent gathering of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. (FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other lawmakers assured the Filipino Muslims that the 19th Congress would continue to support the Islamic community.
“For me, this occasion reflects Filipino Muslims’ quiet and enduring sacrifice toward a peaceful and prosperous life in our home country. I assure you that these efforts aren’t lost us public servants in government and that the administration of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. continues to pursue genuine inclusive progress that would uplift everybody’s lives,” Romualdez said on Wednesday in a statement released on the occasion of Eid’l Adha — the Feast of Sacrifice.
“Eid’l Adha is also commemorated through sharing and gift-giving. This harkens to a core trait of Filipinos wherein we tend to share to others what little resources we have, and we do so with a smile. It is these characteristics that keep Filipinos tightly-knit, whatever faith we may have,” he added
Agri party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee meanwhile hoped that House Bill No. 1299 — the proposed Right to Adequate Food Act which he authored — would be prioritized in the second regular session, as it could address food concerns, especially in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
As of 2022, BARMM — where a lot of Muslims live — still has the highest poverty incidence of all the regions in the Philippines, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. However, a decreasing trend has been observed in BARMM — something that Lee would want to capitalize on.
“As we celebrate Eid’l Adha, the feast of Sacrifice, I call on the government for the swift passage of measures that will guarantee help in ensuring food security for our Muslim brothers and sisters,” Lee said.
“It’s a big thing that poverty incidence in the region has gone down, according to the latest tally of the Philippine Statistics Authority. But we need to remember that 37.4 percent of BARMM’s population or 1.71 million families are in poverty,” he continued, speaking in Filipino.
“There is already a food security and nutrition roadmap for the region. Included in this roadmap is the improvement of policies and institutions for food security. That is why we need an enabling law to implement this — and one is the Right to Adequate Food Act,” he added.
“This bill will address ‘the constant change of priority platforms in every administration transition’ as noted by the food security and nutrition roadmap developed by the BARMM, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),”
The bill, which Lee filed, has been pending with the House Committee on Human Rights since August 2022. The committee would have a chance to discuss this during the second regular session of the House, which will open on July 24 before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his second State of the Nation Address.
Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, a former House speaker, said Filipino Muslims would always have his support in nation-building.
“Our Muslim siblings are close to my heart. That’s why I join them in celebrating Eid’l Adha to show my support for them. We know how they have struggled for reform to attain genuine autonomy and self-governance in our beloved Mindanao. Look at them now. They have BARMM,” Alvarez said, speaking partly in Filipino.
“Let us avoid conflict and disputes. It is high time that we support each other and cover each other’s back to further our common goal which is to develop as a country.”