MPOS pays tribute and honor the memories of the victims of the Manili Massacre by commemorating its 52nd Anniversary in Brgy. Manili, Carmen, North Cotabato on June 19, 2023.
70 lives were lost during the tragic event on June 19, 1971, in the said community , which served as a wake-up call for the Bangsamoro people and have been a driving force behind their fight for justice.
During the commemoration, Minister Hussein P. Muñoz proudly shared updates on the ongoing construction of the Manili Projects. He stated, “𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘶 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘶. 𝘞𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 30 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴.” Minister Muñoz also acknowledged that even though Brgy. Manili is not geographically part of the BARMM, its Bangsamoro residents are still part of the Bangsamoro community who fought for the right to self-determination.
Only a few survivors of the Manili Massacre are still alive today, and one of them is Mambai, who was two-year-old at that time. She shared her testimony, saying, “𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸 54 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥.” She added, “𝘚𝘶 𝘬𝘢𝘬𝘸𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘶 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘢 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘸𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘯. 𝘗𝘦𝘥𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘶 𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘯 (Bangsamoro Government). 𝘕𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘩 𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘢 𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘸.”
Rahma, another survivor, expressed her appreciation for the projects in Manili, calling them “𝘐𝘴𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘢 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘶 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘶 𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘪”.
As the leading Ministry in promoting peace, transitional justice, and reconciliation, MPOS spearheaded this commemoration as part of its regular program on Promoting Bangsamoro Historical Events. Partners from CBCS, Municipal Local Government of Carmen at the same time focal person of OPAPRU, Barangay Local Government of Manili, Bangsamoro Information Office, and Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission were also present during the program.
This commemoration serves as a reminder of the tragic events that shaped the history of the Bangsamoro people. It is a testament to their resilience, as well as their continuous effort in pursuit of justice and lasting peace in the region.
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