Islamic teachers get stipend

COTABATO CITY — Up to 300 Islamic teachers in Cotabato province each received a P1,500 cash allowance for January to March from their provincial government in support of their efforts to promote religious solidarity among local Muslim and Christian communities.

Islamic teachers in Cotabato province are active in programs addressing violent religious extremism being espoused by misguided radical groups fomenting animosity for non-Muslims.

Radio reports in this city and in nearby provinces on Sunday stated that the program, pioneered by the office of Gov. Emmylou T. Mendoza, complements the peace process between Malacañang and Mindanao’s Moro sectors.

The grant of a P500 monthly stipend to Islamic teachers in Madaris, or religious schools in Cotabato, which covers 17 towns and more than 40 barangays in its capital, Kidapawan City, shall be a continuing program of the office of Ms. Mendoza, who is chairperson of the multi-sector Regional Development Council 12.

The three-month allowance for each of the 300 Islamic teachers in Moro-dominated areas in Cotabato province were personally released by employees of the Moro Affairs section of the provincial government led by Edris D. Gandalibo, himself a Muslim.

Teachers in government-accredited Islamic schools in different towns in Cotabato are also known for their subjects promoting cultural and religious solidarity among culturally-pluralistic communities.

A member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, the physician-ophthalmologist Kadil M. Sinolinding, Jr., who has peacebuilding projects in Bangsamoro barangays in Cotabato province, told reporters the allocation of a P500 monthly cash assistance to Muslim preachers by Ms. Mendoza’s office is meaningful owing to her being a non-Muslim and that her province is under Region 12, not part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“Many of the preachers who got the initial allowances are from Bangsamoro barangays in that province. For that, we are thankful,” Mr. Sinolinding said.

Major Gen. Alex Sr. Rillera, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said many Islamic missionaries in Cotabato province were even instrumental in negotiating the surrender of more than 300 members of the outlawed Dawla Islamiya and its ally, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, in the past 12 months. — John Felix M. Unson