A PLAN by local officials to implement a “Muslim-only” identification card (ID) system as a counterterrorism initiative is “discriminatory,” warned a New York-based human-rights advocacy group on Wednesday, July 5.

The proposal, which Human Rights Watch (HRW) said will cover around 26,000 Muslims in Central Luzon, came amid ongoing clashes between government troops and IS-linked Maute rebels in Marawi City.

“Two weeks ago, authorities in the town of Paniqui, Tarlac province, imposed a Muslim-only ID card as a ‘best practice’ that authorities were urged to replicate throughout Central Luzon’s seven provinces,” HRW said.

“The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other human rights treaties to which the Philippines is a party prohibits discrimination based on religion. The IDs could also violate the rights to equal protection of the law, freedom of movement, and other basic rights,” it added.

The group noted further that “some Muslim leaders did not object outright to the proposal.”

“ID requirements for Muslims should be rejected outright,” HRW said, adding that “there have been reports of discrimination against Muslims” since martial law was declared in Mindanao. — Jil Danielle M. Caro

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