Legarda Seeks To Include Moro History In College Curriculum

In an effort to promote greater appreciation of the contributions of the Moro people to the country’s history, Senator Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, has filed a bill seeking to include Moro history, culture and identity studies as an elective subject in the college curriculum.

“The goal of this measure is to provide the youth a broader perspective of their past, reinforcing Filipino identity. It also aims to provide deeper knowledge and understanding of the centuries-long historical and cultural heritage of both the Moro people and the indigenous peoples or what we call the Lumads in Mindanao,” Legarda stressed.

She added, “The integration and mainstreaming of the study of the history of our Islamic brothers and sisters and the Lumads in our state universities and colleges (SUCs) and even in private higher educational institutions will promote national unity.”

Senate Bill No. 2685 mandates the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to develop a course of “Moro History, Culture and Identity Studies” as an elective in the higher education curriculum, highlighting the positive relations between Muslims and Christians, including shared origins and other points of commonality even before the arrival of Islam and Christianity.

Under the said bill, agencies concerned would consult recognized experts on Moro history, culture and identity as well as recognized resource persons on the Mindanao peace process and Muslim-Christian dialogue in the formulation and creation of the Moro history elective, including the writing, printing and publication of textbooks and other reading materials.

Also included is the specific character of Mindanao as an island, including the peculiarities of the different Moro and Lumad ethno-linguistic groups, and historical interactions among the people of Mindanao, Christian settlers and their descendants, the Moros or Muslims, and the Lumads.

“The history of the Bangsamoro people forms part of the backbone of the historical development of our country. It is about time that we recognize the rightful place of the history and identity of the Bangsamoro in the fabric of our national history,” Legarda concluded.