Senate OK’s bill creating 12 Shari’a courts

THE PHILIPPINE SENATE has approved on third and final reading a bill creating 12 additional Shari’a courts in different parts of the country, including the capital region.

Twenty senators unanimously approved Senate Bill No. 2594, which seeks to set up these courts in the provinces of Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Occidental, Camiguin, Cagayan de Oro, and Cebu, as well as in Metro Manila.

“This will give them (Muslims) an opportunity to listen to and hear their cases where they reside, whether it is northern Luzon, Central Visayas, or in Mindanao,” Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri told the Senate floor following the measure’s approval.

The bill, filed by Senator Robin C. Padilla, who is a practicing Muslim, would increase the number of Shari’a judicial districts, particularly in the major cities of Davao in Mindanao, Cebu in Central Visayas, and the nation’s capital, Manila.

“This is to ensure that our Muslim brothers and sisters across the archipelago will have better access to the specialized knowledge and expertise of shari’a judges, promoting fair and equal treatment of Muslims under the law, regardless of their geographic location,” Mr. Padilla said in the bill’s explanatory note. — John Victor D. Ordoñez