Gibo eyes wider Muslim representation in govt

Administration presidential bet Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said he would provide broader Muslim participation in the national government if he is elected as the country’s next president. In a statement released to the media on Thursday, Teodoro said he wants wider Muslim representation in his administration to foster “real integration and cooperation." "There should be real integration and cooperation among our people, whatever their faith may be, and this could be initiated through concrete executive fiats," he said. The former defense secretary, who is currently in Mindanao for campus tours and multi-sectoral meetings, said he plans to create a Department of Muslim Affairs if elected president. This new department would be headed by a Cabinet-level secretary and would have powers broader that the Office of Muslim Affairs, which is currently tasked to address issues facing Muslim communities in the country. "We need to hone existing structures and to maximize national resources… That is why I propose the creation of a Department of Muslim Affairs, so that the Office of the President can directly oversee the developments in Mindanao," he said. Teodoro likewise said he wants to appoint qualified Muslim luminaries to the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and lower courts if he becomes the country’s 15th chief executive. Aside from broader Muslim participation in government, the administration party standard-bearer likewise vowed to push for better representation of Muslim communities in mainstream media and in the country’s educational system. Despite Teodoro’s plans for wider Muslim representation in government, a closer look into his senatorial slate, however, does not include a single candidate who is from the Muslim community or at least, from Mindanao. All six of the administration party’s senatorial bets hail from Luzon, including former Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III who was born in Isabela but migrated to Davao in the 1970s. Teodoro’s running mate, actor Edu Manzano, meanwhile, comes from Iloilo province in the Visayas. Based on latest Commission on Elections data, almost a fourth or about10 million of the total registered voters for the 2010 polls will come from Mindanao, where most of the Muslim communities in the country are concentrated. - Andreo Calonzo/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV