"There is no more room for violence. Instead, Filipinos must unite for peace."
This was the message of Senator Robin Padilla, a movie actor and director, as the nation marked Eid al Adha on Saturday, July 9.
Padilla, whose Muslim name is Abdul Aziz, stressed that peace should be not just among Muslims but also among those of other faiths including Christians and Lumads.
"Mga kapatid ko, wala na pong lugar ang karahasan. Wala na. Peace na po ngayon, kapayapaan na. Ito na po ang pagkakataon para suminag ang napakalaking liwanag sa bawa't Piipino (My brethren, there is no place for violence. Now is the time for peace. This is the chance for peace for all Filipinos)," he said in his message on Eid al Adha at the Quezon City Police District in Camp Karingal.
"Ipaalam natin sa lahat, sa mga Kristyano, sa mga Lumad, na ang Islam ay narito para bigyan ng solusyon ang inyong mga problema (Let's make it known - to Christians and Lumads - that Islam will offer the solution to our problems)," he added.
Padilla stressed that it is responsibility of all Filipinos to work for peace and to value life, pointing out that the prophet Ibrahim has taught that there is no extremism in Islam.
"Hindi tayo kailanman dapat umabot sa punto na tayo ay kikitil ng buhay, maging pamilya man natin o hindi natin kilala, Muslim man o Krisyano o Hudyo o Lumad. Sapagka’t ang Islam ay pagmamahal sa kapwa, kapayapaan, pag-ibig (We should not allow killings, whether of our family members or those who we do not know. Islam is love for one another, for peace)," he said.
"Mga kababayan ko, ito po ang panahon na ako ay dinala nyo sa Senado para ipakita po sa tao, ipakita sa buong Pilipinas, ipakita sa buong Asya, na ang Muslim ang magdadala ng pag-asa sa Inang Bayang Pilipinas (My fellow Filipinos, now is the time to show the entire Philippines, the whole of Asia, that Muslims will bring hope to our motherland)!" he added.
Meanwhile, Padilla reiterated his call to bring back the teaching of Philippine history to high schools. He lamented that when the K-12 system was implemented, it excluded Philippine history from the curriculum.
"Kaya po nating isinulong ang panukalang yan para malaman ng ating kababayan na wala pa pong Espanyol dito sa Pilipinas, narito na po ang mga Muslim (This is why I am advocating that Philippine history be included in the curriculum - even before the Spaniards arrived here, the Muslims are already living in the Philippines)," he said.
"Kailanman, hindi po sumurrender ang ating mga kapatid na Moro. Sabi nga ni FPJ, dumating ang mga Kastila, nandito na kami (Our Moro brethren never surrendered. As the late action king Fernando Poe Jr. said, when the Spaniards arrived, we were already here).
Dumating ang mga Amerikano nandito na kami. Dumating ang mga Hapon nandito na kami. Bumalik ang mga Amerikano nandito na kami. Kaya kahit kailan hindi mawawala ang ka-Musliman sa Pilipinas (When the Americans and Japanese arrived, we were already here. When the Americans returned, we were already here. Muslims have always been in the Philippines)," he added.