Do we have Islam-phobia?

The hawks in Malacanang are laughing themselves all the way to the bank. Their scheme of creating chaos in an otherwise peaceful country has affected almost everybody in this tiny yet disenfranchised Republic of Southeast Asia. Everybody, I mean, just everybody has something to say about this imbroglio in Mindanao. Filipinos are passionately discussing things, as if it's a matter of life and death.

While my colleagues debate and write articles damning this Memorandum of Agreement to high heavens, we forget the plan of government to audit the books of the oil companies. That laudable plan has been put in the backburner, though, a few days back, that's the hottest coffee shop talk. Since things stand as it is, oil companies are sneakingly getting their way out of calls for a rollback. One big oil company says, it can only give a 50 cents rollback on diesel since it still has some "under recoveries". While, in its global headquarters, it reported a 7 billion peso profit (and still going up).

When the talk shifted to Mindanao, there seems to be an increase in impassioned talk. Why? Compared with the talk about higher fuel and food prices, this issue on Mindanao has been discussed more thoroughly as if everyone thinks that it's more important than the economy.

When its religious strife, Filipinos always strongly feel something about it. Why? Do we have a nationwide Islam-phobia? We always write that these Muslims deserve our attention, but when it comes to granting them independence, we take whatever views we have and say, we don't support it and it's better for them to just have autonomy?

When can we possibly transcend this Islam-phobia thing? That's what I was saying all along--Filipinos must be consistent. If we really consider these Muslims as Filipinos, we must assimilate them into the prevailing culture. Or rather, we must accommodate their Islamic way into ours and co-exist. For if we fail to do this, we risk having all these calls of independence.

And, if we do care for them, why is Mindanao still a backward, underdeveloped and impoverished region? For decades, it has been left desolate by this government. It is rich in natural and human resources but remains as the poorest region among Philippine regions? Sometimes I feel that they deserve a better government, a government run by them, instead of those in Imperial Manila.