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TESTIMONIAL BY DATU TOTO PAGLAS

Greetings of Peace to fellow participants and stakeholders to peace and economic development, Shalom, Assalamu-Alaikum.

I thank the sponsors, and the group of academics, researchers, and journalists, for their interest on the subject, or as rightly received, the “phenomenon” of Rido. Thank you for inviting me to share my own insights into the subject of “Rido” or vengeance killings seriously, thru this top level participatory analysis of clan conflicts in Mindanao. It is good to have a better understanding of the link between clan conflicts and the state-related conflicts. I agree with the opinion that Rido is a major cause of violence in ARMM-not terrorism or rebellion. Let me however attempt to clarify that although Rido is “more pronounced” in the Muslim Region, it has got nothing to do with Islam or the Muslim faith. Rather, it is a carry over of a tribal culture.

My father and my 3 younger brothers were all victims of violence, in a combination of incidents that were either motivated politically, or plain lawlessness on the side of those who took the lives of my loved ones. These all happened mostly in the 1980’s (and a couple of incidents few years back). One night, grenade was thrown into our house, severely maiming my father who was resting on his rocking chair (he died less than 2 years after that) and killing on the spot my 7 years old brother who was playing right next to him. Then a few years after, another younger brother was shot dead by a drunken man, without any provocation except that the killer was drunk, at a resort in Tacurong. Then in another incident, another younger brother who at that time was the Vice-Mayor of Columbio, Sultan Kudarat, was killed in an ambush.

And 3 years ago, another younger brother was killed in a vehicular accident, by a drunken (again) driver. And again, just 2 years ago, in an incident highly covered by the press, a beloved son of mine, my own junior, was a near victim of a bullet that was intended for him by another teenager (incidentally a scion of a powerful politician in Maguindanao who is my uncle), the stray bullet killing the son of a well-connected family in Davao City who was believed to be wanting to hit back at the family of my uncle-politician had it not been for the timely intervention of Mayor Duterte. This last incident which happened in a popular restaurant in Davao City, might be classified an “unfortunate brawl among teenagers” except that on my side, some of my relatives, including those in the MILF who were planning to “take a leave” in order that the organization is not compromised, also wanted to hit back in a big way against the assailant’s family.

Normally in our culture, I could have taken the road of “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, as my more hot-tempered relatives were asking me, in fact some were begging me in tears of grief and anger, that if I did not want to do it myself at least I should not stop them from “hitting back in a massive manner which is typical of Muslim Moros” meaning, kill not just the identified culprits and/or suspects, but also their families. The temptation was great particularly because my clan was already conditioned to it (I personally had violently fought my own war during the “war-zone” years of my town, and we more than sufficiently had the weapons to do it.

The question then, as often asked, was why did I not do it, why did I not allow it to happen despite the normal reaction of rage and pain that I, just like any ordinary mortal, also felt?

I could only attribute it to the Guidance from the Almighty. I believe it was God who spoke to my heart and urged me to stop the cycle of violence. For indeed, it was His Command that we forgive, that we love our enemies, that nothing in this world would happen if He Does NOT Allow it to happen. I was also focused on my desire to change the lives of my people for the better, to bring economic development and the resulting education and better health and better life to our people. I believed that for economic development to come, there must be peace, although the “Paglas Experience” of economic development had also clearly shown that sustainable economic development also is a catalyst to lasting peace.

I also thought of the pain that it brings when one loses a loved one, as I and my family felt. I felt the pain that the families of those whom we would have hit back, their wives and children especially, would feel. I decided to accept the truth, that “vengeance” is to God’s alone, that everything should be up to His Will.

With the passage of years, especially during the succeeding years, I had experienced the truth of the saying that “faith in God and time has a way of healing things”. My dear uncle, former Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the late Salamat Hashim, would always remind me that JIHAD, in its highest form, means “struggle within one’s self” or to resist doing evil (which murder and revenge is), and the struggle to do good (which forgiveness of one’s enemy is). I did not realize that I was doing my own jihad in my own day to day life, as all faithful in whatever religion, had done their own jihads (or Holy Wars). Let me quote from the Book of my faith, the Holy Qur’an, “O ye who believe! Seek help in steadfastness and prayer. Lo! Allah is with the steadfast.”(Surah II-124). A very dear Christian brother had shared with me a great passage from the Holy Bible and upon his encouragement, I feel privileged to also quote it: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28).

Now, as I see the thousands of rebels and lawless elements live normal lives with their families because they are already working and earning in the plantation of my investors, I realized that God has a way of Giving His Rewards. I need not be loaded with Cash because in truth I am not, in order to realize how blessed I have been. The families of those who victimized my family are working in the plantation, co-existing with others in peace, realizing that although I may not have forgotten what they had done, but that they had been forgiven. It had increased our faith in the Almighty, and in our faith for a better future, that can only be attained if we all live in peace.

Another beneficiary of economic development because they let peace subsequently reign in their hearts and in their lives, are my investors’ expansion areas of Wao and Bumbaran, Lanao del Sur, ARMM. These communities had their share of violence and Ridos in the not so distant past (in Bumbaran town few years back, a truckload of settlers were massacred). Last year, the same investors of Datu Paglas town decided to locate their expansion projects in those communities, now employing hundreds initially, for former rebels and would-have-been rebels or lawless elements. These people, both Muslims and Christian settlers, are now enjoying the “bounty” (again just the basic provisions of being able to eat better, be clothed and be sheltered) of my investors confidence, because the people had tried to the best they could, to end their own Ridos or cycles of violence. In both these towns, their respective community leaders had shown the way, had set the example of looking up to the Almighty for justice and forgiveness.

For those of us who are now enjoying what maybe considered “material prosperity” but in truth just being able to adequately eat & be clothed and sheltered compared to having nothing in the past, we face the bigger challenge of not straying from the Path that God Has Laid for us, of living according to His Teachings, Sent thru His Messengers. As the Holy Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w. (Peace Be Upon Him) says: “there is no poverty worse than ignorance (of God’s wisdom), and no wealth more useful than reason”.

May this humble sharing be of benefit to you, main participants to this gathering, may God Bless all of us or, as we Muslims say, Wassalamu-alaikum.

Datu Ibrahim “Toto” Pendatun Paglas III
CEO-President, Paglas Corporation
(Chairman, AdCom, Business & Peace Program, PBSP
Head, ARMM Private Movers Group, GMA Job Creation Program
Consultant to the Presidential Adviser on the GRP-MILF Peace Process)