(Eagle News)—-Senator Richard Gordon is proposing the addition of a ninth ray to the sun in the Philippine flag to “rectify the omission of the Muslims from the group of Filipinos given due recognition… for their heroic struggle against the colonial invaders from the West.”
“With their bravery, our Muslim heroes left an imprint on national history that, at the very least, must be given due recognition in the most heraldic item of national importance–the Philippine flag,” Gordon said in sponsoring Committee Report 393, from Proposed Senate Bill No. 102 that seeks to amend Republic Act No. 8491, or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines.
According to Gordon, it “cannot be denied that the Muslims have been here and they precipitated the first defeat of the colonial invader from the West.”
“Yet, our Muslim heroes are forgotten. Muslim Mindanao is part and parcel of the Philippines and we should not remove them from our history,,” he said.
According to the senator, his proposal, if implemented, will also “further foster unity” in the country, much like the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
The BOL, he said, “aims to end decades of conflict in Mindanao by creating a political entity that would enjoy greater autonomy than the Autonomous Region in Muslim..”
“We seek to inculcate in the minds and hearts of our people a just pride in their native Muslim brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for the country’s freedom… So that every day that it is raised, every day that every young person or a Filipino raises his hand to pledge allegiance to the flag, we are pledging to inclusion of our Muslim brothers and sisters and we are pledging towards a nation which values history,” he said.