It has become a kind of a battle between the sister of President Benigno Aquino III and the daughter of ousted president, now Manila City Mayor, Joseph Estrada.
Kris Aquino defended her brother, the President, in her posts on social media. She responded to those who said her brother was a failure because of the death of 44 police commandos in a Maguindanao encounter with armed members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The policemen were out to arrest two suspected terrorists - Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Filipino bomb-maker Abdulbasit Usman. Marwan was killed in the clash.
Jerika Ejercito, daughter of Estrada with former actress Laarni Enriquez, said on social media that Kris Aquino was a “bully” who “cannot handle the truth herself.” Aquino said Saturday that the ex-president called her and apologized for the comment of his daughter.
Estrada was one of those who called for an all-out war against the MILF after the encounter but has not openly criticized President Aquino. Estrada only said Aquino should be cautious in dealing with the MILF and that he hoped Aquino would succeed where past presidents failed in seeking peace and stability in the south.
Aquino is not inclined to go on a full-scale aggression against the BIFF and the MILF as he wants the police investigation to find out the truth first about the encounter.
There is work to be done yet too much attention is being devoted to the squabble brought on by Kris Aquino and her belligerent stance online. The time spent on Kris Aquino could have been better spent discussing the many aspects of Mindanao and the difficulties in pursuing dialog between religions and geographical regions.
As visiting theologian from Belgium Dr. Mathijs Lamberigts said, the greatest challenge faced by interreligious dialog and religious freedom is learning how to respect other religions. Lamberigts is dean of theology and religious studies at KU Leuven, Belgium.
“It is very difficult to respect each other’s religious freedom, each other’s consciousness, and each other’s convictions and that is in my view the basis for every interreligious dialog,” Lamberigts said in a talk at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
A Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines report on Lamberigts’s visit said the theologian pointed to a common ground that can be arrived at by Islamic people and Christians “who believe in one God, concern for the poor, respect for family life, and actions of solidarity.”
Kris Aquino should stop getting into battles online with critics of her brother and learn to keep quiet as her way to help push the process of dialog and the search for justice for those killed.
Her online battles do not contribute to the effort for peace but only bring to the limelight other entertainers and actors who spurt political statements without much thought.
(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)