I have yet to see and hear in the media a Moro politician speak openly for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)or commonly called Pork Barrel. Since this debate raged on in Congress, the Moro politicians have been silent about PDAF. Worse, some sang the initial tune of President Benigno Aquino III and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte – that is in defense of the pork. ...

Eid’l Fitr marks the end of Ramadhan, the Muslim’s fasting month. Following the lunar calendar, the sighting of the new moon signals the change of month in the Muslim’s Hijrah calendar. For those who feel that they have not fulfilled well this month the 4th pillar of Islam, we still have today and tomorrow to fast, give zakat ‘ul fitra (voluntary material or financial assistance), pray the Salatul Taraweeh (special nightly prayer reciting verses of the Qur’an) and the Salatul Layl or Tahajud Salah (midnight prayer). These are special prayers performed voluntarily in congregational and individual prayers. ...

By AMIRA ALI LIDASAN Davao Today  However, the most vulnerable are the hundreds of undocumented migrant workers who have been the backbone of Sabah’s economy.  They work in Sabah as domestic helpers, construction workers, plantation workers, street sweepers, waitress, cook and other menial jobs.  Despite of their long stay in Sabah, they cannot get the IC or permit needed to be residents or workers in Sabah. ...

By AMIRA ALI LIDASAN Davao Today In the history of the Moro people, the Kirams were a picture of a royalty who gave in to the colonials.  Sabah was a gift given by the Sultanate of Brunei to the Sultanate of Sulu, because of its help in quelling a rebellion against the Brunei sultanate in 1658.  The Sulu Sultanate then leased North Borneo to British North Borneo Company in 1878 in exchange of 5,300 Mexican pesos.  Britain would then annex Sabah during colonization until 1946 and the new Federated Malaysia included it as part of its territory in 1963. ...

(First of a three-part column) By AMIRA ALI LIDASAN Davao Today We can see the worry in the face of Princess Jacel as she updates her father, her emotional appeal to end the attack against her father’s men, and her anger at Pres. Aquino. In the press conference, she wore the Muslim woman’s veil or tirong in her Tausug language, emotional in her challenge against Aquino.  This is the image of a Muslim woman challenging the state because she is a victim of government neglect, of human rights violation such as enforced evacuation in a conflict area, or whose husband or son was falsely identified as an Abu Sayyaf member and illegally arrested in exchange of rewards against terrorists. ...

By AMIRA ALI LIDASAN Davao Today For those of you who still haven’t watched the indie film “Thy Womb,” you can come to Zamboanga City and still catch it. Viewers in Manila were complaining last month that they had to comb the metro to find Brillante Mendoza’s movie about a Moro woman from Tawi-Tawi who helped her husband find another wife so that the latter could bear him a child.  Filipino viewers are so loyal to Nora Aunor, who plays the female lead character; most of them tried hard to try to stop the film from being pulled out from major cinemas, despite hardly understanding (and accepting) the movie’s theme. ...

By AMIRA ALI LIDASAN Journalists and human rights groups are marking November 23 as the International Day to End Impunity, in remembrance of the 2009 Ampatuan Massacre, which according to International Freedom of Expression Exchange is “the single deadliest incident for journalists in recent history.” ...

(Last of two parts) When it comes to the problems of the Moro people, the only solution that the Aquino administration can give is reform the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a name carried on by the civil society that pushed for President Aquino’s appointment of Mujiv Hataman as Officer-In-Charge in the ARMM.  For lack of anything to report good about the conditions of the Moro people in his th ...

(First of two parts) Eid Mubarak!  As the Muslim Ummah (community) commemorates the Eid’l Adha today, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, let us also remember our Moro brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives in defense of our community and in aspiration for an independent nation, or a bangsa (nation) for the Moro people. It’s good to be back at the home page of Davao Today, and I’m very thankful to the e ...