Wednesday, April 18, 2007 No more ‘Muslims’ in reports
HOPING to help correct misconceptions about members of the Muslim community, Chief Supt. Silverio Alarcio Jr. immediately ordered police officers to stop mentioning in their police reports if a suspect is a Muslim.
This was after Muslim leaders asked law enforcers to stop referring to some suspected criminals as Muslims and to treat them as individual criminals.
Muslim leaders pointed out that the public is quick to associate a criminal with his Muslim religion but if a suspect is a Christian, there is no mention in the reports.
“The right thing to do is just mention the name. As a general guideline, let us no longer differentiate,” Alarcio, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 chief, said yesterday.
The Office of the Muslim Affairs (OMA) 7 and the PRO 7 held a peace summit yesterday and this was one of the concerns raised by the Muslim leaders present.
No frat names
Acting Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador said that aside from not including a person’s religious affiliations, they also practice not including the name of a fraternity in their police reports.
Religious leader Ustadz Najeeb Razul also wondered why every time there is a need to hold a peace dialogue, the Muslim leaders are always called upon.
“It is as if it is implied that with Muslims, trouble is always associated. I’d like to correct that impression,” Razul said.
Razul reminded those present that belief in Islam is not about violence.
Alarcio, though, assured that in keeping peace, the Muslim community is just one of the many sectors they have dialogues with.
OMA 7 Director Sakiran Hajan said the objective of the summit was to exchange views between members of the Muslim community and law enforcers.
After the discussion, the Muslim leaders, law enforcers and government representatives signed a covenant agreeing to support each other in working out peace and order in Central Visayas. (MEA)
