In relation to the video “Panatang MakaBATA” which was uploaded with the post entitled “BARMM duty bearers recite “Panatang Makabata” in the Ministry of Social Services and Development’s (MSSD) Facebook page on November 3, 2021, we would like to express our apologies for offending people in the exclusion of the Iranun.
We thank the Iranun people for the positive criticism and standing up bravely for their right of representation in the history of Bangsamoro struggle.
We did not intend to disregard the significant contributions of the Iranun to the Bangsamoro struggle for self-determination over the years. The Ministry acknowledges the bravery of the mujahideens who belong to the Iranun, as well as to the rest of the 13 ethno-linguistic Bangsamoro groups. And like those who have expressed their objection, we will make sure that this fact will not be forgotten.
The Ministry has Iranun in its workforce, and we serve clients from the Iranun communities. In our delivery of programs and services, we do not discriminate against any ethnicity.
What happened during the production was an honest mistake and we take full responsibility for it.
Moving forward, rest assured that we will rectify this mistake and do better in the future so as not to convey exclusion or discrimination of ethnicities in the Bangsamoro.
We sincerely thank you for the feedback.
In closing, we would like to appeal to everyone not to lose the message of the video, which is the commitment of duty-bearers to promote, protect and fulfill the rights of children.
