Pass Anti-Discriminatory Laws, Defense Brass Urges Gov't

A mosque by the river near Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province in the southern Philippines. Defense Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina urges the government to enact anti-discriminatory in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Ulysses E. Israel / 22 Aug) The Philippine Government should enact anti-discriminatory laws to supplant discrimination against its Muslim population and other minority groups in the country, a top Defense official said.

Ernesto G. Carolina, Defense Undersecretary, said the national government should not only come up with policies at the agency level but should also enact laws that would correct the long existing discrimination against the Muslim population.

Carolina was in Zamboanga City on Friday for the Roundtable Discussion on "Building Capacities of the Southern Command on Conflict Management and Peace Building."

The roundtable discussion was organized by Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. in coordination with the Department of National Defense, Southern Command (SouthCom) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) with assistance from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

It was participated in by non-government organizations, religious organizations and the academe that are involved in the peace process in Mindanao.

Carolina said the government should also come up with laws promoting multiculturalism and closer interfaith interaction and dialogue. "We need to keep our laws relevant to the needs of times," he said.

He said Australia and European countries have already enacted laws protecting and promoting the advancement of indigenous cultures, the Philippines however is still wanting in these respects.

He said Muslims who go to Manila to look for jobs would hide their Muslim identities to avoid discrimination.