Hussin promised to be the voice of Filipino Muslims in the 24-seat Senate

By Rexcel Sorza, IOL Correspondent

ILOILO CITY, March 25 (IslamOnline.net) – The only Muslim vying for a Senate seat on the list of President Gloria Arroyo’s party pledged to promote peace and unity not only in the Muslim populated region of Mindanao but the entire country if elected.

"I want to represent the Filipino Muslims in the Senate. I would work for peace and unity," Dr. Parouk Hussin, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), told IslamOnline.net on Thursday, March 25.

He promised to press for the passage of legislations serving Filipino Muslims and to be their voice in the 24-seat Senate, the upper house of parliament, if he wins in the May 10 polls.

Citing his achievements as governor of the Muslim populated ARMM, Hussin said he would work in the Senate to guarantee a more harmonious relationship between peoples of diverse beliefs, cultures, and religions in this Southeast Asian state.

"If Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and to some extent Indonesia, where people of diverse racial, religious and cultural origins have joined hands to make their country stable and economically viable, not to mention peaceful, why can’t we do it? If they can do it, Filipinos can, too," he said confidently.

Hussin complained that "the promised land of Mindanao has been neglected due to pockets of conflict, Filipinos against fellow Filipinos."

He asserted that his vision for a progressive Mindanao prompted him to accept the challenge to run for the Senate, recalling it was the same conviction that brought him as head of the ARMM in 2001.

Under Hussin's rule, ARMM reportedly registered an economic growth rate of 4.8 percent, which surpassed the 4.4 percent national growth average in 2003.

He said that the long absence of a senator from the ranks of the Bangsamoro aggravates the peace and order and economic woes in Mindanao, which affects the entire Philippines.

Hussin, a physician, was a former foreign minister and ambassador of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which fought for a separate state for the Bangsamoro people.

"With me in the Senate, my friendship with the European Union community and the OIC will be tapped to its utmost potential for the benefit of all Filipinos," he said.

Hussin's legislative agenda includes better education and improved health care for every Filipino.

Two other Muslims are also vying in the Senate elections but not on the list of the ruling party.

Filipino Muslims, estimated to be around 10 million, are a minority in this Christian-dominated country.

The last Muslim to serve in the Senate was Santanina Rasul whose term ended in 1995.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which replaced MNLF, is engaged in peace negotiations with the Philippines government.

The two sides announced Saturday, February 21, that they would resume formal negotiations  for a peaceful and lasting solution to the Mindanao problem in April.