Baclaran Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Baclaran Mosque, formally called the Rajah Sulayman Grand Mosque and also referred to as the Baclaran Grand Mosque, is a mosque in Barangay Baclaran
at the border of Pasay City
and Parañaque City
in Metro Manila
.
on Roxas Boulevard
just south of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue
, overlooking Manila Bay
. The mosque is topped by an onion dome
. Its main room contains four 25-foot tall columns; the walls still show exposed iron rebar
. It is surrounded by a Muslim squatter
community, whose size is estimated at roughly 5,000 people. In April 2005, a fire in the squatter community destroyed 170 houses and resulted in the deaths of two children. Coincidentally, it is directly across the street from a famous Catholic shrine and church, the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
; Los Angeles Times
writer Richard C. Paddock used this contrast between the large, well-maintained church and the far more modest mosque as an opening allegory to a news story which analyzed the inequalities between Muslims and Catholics in the Philippines.
The Baclaran Mosque is owned by the Baclaran-Parañaque City Islamic Center, Inc., whose legal representatives are Nasser Ramos, Jalil Moluk, and Sultan Sohayle Cosain Tanandato. It was built in 1994. Abdelmanan Tanandato, brother of Sultan Tanandato, claims that the Baclaran Mosque is Metro Manila's third biggest. There is some confusion as to what city government should actually have jurisdiction over the site; the mosque was constructed on the strength of a building permit from Parañaque City, but the Office of Muslim Affairs (now the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos
) claims the site is in Pasay City.
On the morning of June 7, a PRA demolition team and 50 Pasay City police surrounded the site, planning to begin demolition work. Some residents took refuge in the mosque; others went out to confront the demolition team and threw stones at them, leading police to respond by beating them with truncheons; furthermore, some residents set fire to their own homes as the demolitions proceeded. The demolitions were completed by noon, leaving 800 people homeless. Some of the evicted residents even appealed to a Catholic bishop Broderick Pabillo for help in delivering a letter to the government. The affected residents remained in the vicinity of the mosque, and on June 26 were granted a 60-day reprieve from the eviction
order.
In the end, the residents rebuilt their homes on the same land. In June 2008, after a court order from the Parañaque Regional Trial Court for residents to vacate the area, 300 instead armed themselves with wooden clubs and successfully faced off another demolition attempt by 100 Pasay City police officers.
Eduardo Ermita
sent a memorandum to the Philippine Reclamation Authority instructing them to reclaim the land and relocate the mosque to another site on Coastal Road, so that the land could be used for the construction of the Southwest Public Transport Intermodal Center. However, local residents claimed that the land would actually be used for high-end residential developments and casinos. Oscar V. Cruz
, the founder of anti-gambling organization Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (People's Crusade Against Jueteng
) and at the time the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan
, spoke out in opposition to the demolition, as did the NGO Urban Poor Associates
. In early August, Swiss NGO Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
also wrote a letter to then-President of the Philippines
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
to urge her to halt the evictions and to condemn the worsening living convictions faced by the residents due to the repeated demolition attempts.
The Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 issued a writ of execution
in relation to the memorandom on 13 August 2009. This writ ordered the settlers and the mosque to vacate the area peacefully, and warned that the court might use force to implement the order. The writ was delivered just shortly before the start of Ramadan
that year, leading to further consternation by the Muslims. In September, another Catholic priest, Fr. Robert Reyes, showed solidarity with the Muslim residents by joining them in their Ramadan fast, and expressed his opposition to the relocation.
police who were attempting to enforce the order to demolish the shanties surrounding the mosque. Roughly 170 shanties were demolished without incident, but among roughly 300 residents who had sought refuge in the mosque, some began throwing stones at the police. The police responded with gunfire, killing three residents, including a seven year-old boy, and injuring another seven. Nine of the police implementing the demolition order were also injured. The incident led to condemnation against the police by Anak Mindanao
Party Rep. Mujiv Hataman. In early comments after the incident, the police stated that no one had died.
Baclaran
Baclaran is a barangay located on the border of Parañaque and Pasay in Metro Manila, Philippines.The area is well-known for the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help also known as the Redemptorist Church or Baclaran Church, dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. There is also a...
at the border of Pasay City
Pasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
and Parañaque City
Parañaque City
The City of Parañaque , or simply Parañaque , is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines....
in Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
.
Background information
Baclaran Mosque sits on reclaimed landLand reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
on Roxas Boulevard
Roxas Boulevard
Roxas Boulevard is a boulevard in Metro Manila, and an eight-lane arterial road that connects the center of Manila with Pasay City, Parañaque City. It is one of the major arteries in the city's metropolitan network, designated as Radial Road 1...
just south of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue , formerly known as Highway 54, is the main circumferential road and highway of Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is an important commuting artery between the northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area...
, overlooking Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
. The mosque is topped by an onion dome
Onion dome
An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles the onion, after which they are named. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the drum upon which they are set, and their height usually exceeds their width...
. Its main room contains four 25-foot tall columns; the walls still show exposed iron rebar
Rebar
A rebar , also known as reinforcing steel, reinforcement steel, rerod, or a deformed bar, is a common steel bar, and is commonly used as a tensioning device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures holding the concrete in compression...
. It is surrounded by a Muslim squatter
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
community, whose size is estimated at roughly 5,000 people. In April 2005, a fire in the squatter community destroyed 170 houses and resulted in the deaths of two children. Coincidentally, it is directly across the street from a famous Catholic shrine and church, the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is one of the largest churches in the Philippines. The church houses one of the most venerated and celebrated Marian images in the country, called an icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, to which miraculous powers and events are ascribed...
; Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Richard C. Paddock used this contrast between the large, well-maintained church and the far more modest mosque as an opening allegory to a news story which analyzed the inequalities between Muslims and Catholics in the Philippines.
The Baclaran Mosque is owned by the Baclaran-Parañaque City Islamic Center, Inc., whose legal representatives are Nasser Ramos, Jalil Moluk, and Sultan Sohayle Cosain Tanandato. It was built in 1994. Abdelmanan Tanandato, brother of Sultan Tanandato, claims that the Baclaran Mosque is Metro Manila's third biggest. There is some confusion as to what city government should actually have jurisdiction over the site; the mosque was constructed on the strength of a building permit from Parañaque City, but the Office of Muslim Affairs (now the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos
National Commission on Muslim Filipinos
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos is a government agency whose objective is to promote the rights of Muslim Filipinos and to make them active participants in Philippine nation-building...
) claims the site is in Pasay City.
2007 house demolitions
In March 2007, the Manila Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA) ordered residents around the mosque to vacate their land, stating that the structures they lived in were illegal and would be torn down in May. The MMDA offered residents P5,000 in compensation to move to other sites. Roberto Esquivel, speaking on behalf of the MMDA, stated that the mosque would remain untouched temporarily, but the residents themselves had to move. By June, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) claimed that 121 of the families there out of 344 total had accepted P30,000 in compensation to return to their home provinces. However, remaining families were quoted as vowing a "holy war" against demolition attempts. The Office of Muslim Affairs and the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Manila wrote to the government to seek assurances that the mosque would not be affected; the PRA promised that it would not tear down the mosque, and stated that a search was underway to identify a suitable site for relocating the mosque instead.On the morning of June 7, a PRA demolition team and 50 Pasay City police surrounded the site, planning to begin demolition work. Some residents took refuge in the mosque; others went out to confront the demolition team and threw stones at them, leading police to respond by beating them with truncheons; furthermore, some residents set fire to their own homes as the demolitions proceeded. The demolitions were completed by noon, leaving 800 people homeless. Some of the evicted residents even appealed to a Catholic bishop Broderick Pabillo for help in delivering a letter to the government. The affected residents remained in the vicinity of the mosque, and on June 26 were granted a 60-day reprieve from the eviction
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
order.
In the end, the residents rebuilt their homes on the same land. In June 2008, after a court order from the Parañaque Regional Trial Court for residents to vacate the area, 300 instead armed themselves with wooden clubs and successfully faced off another demolition attempt by 100 Pasay City police officers.
Relocation order
In May 2009, then Executive Secretary of the PhilippinesExecutive Secretary (Philippines)
The Executive Secretary of the Philippines is the head and highest ranking official serving in Cabinet of the Philippines and the head of the Office of the President of the Philippines. The office-holder has been nicknamed as the "Little President" due to the nature of the position...
Eduardo Ermita
Eduardo Ermita
Eduardo R. Ermita, was the Executive Secretary of the Philippines, and spokesperson for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was born on July 13, 1935 in Balayan, Batangas. Ermita took his Defense Resource Management Course at Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, California, U.S.A...
sent a memorandum to the Philippine Reclamation Authority instructing them to reclaim the land and relocate the mosque to another site on Coastal Road, so that the land could be used for the construction of the Southwest Public Transport Intermodal Center. However, local residents claimed that the land would actually be used for high-end residential developments and casinos. Oscar V. Cruz
Oscar V. Cruz
Oscar V. Cruz is an archbishop-emeritus of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. He was the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in Pangasinan, Philippines.-Biography:...
, the founder of anti-gambling organization Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (People's Crusade Against Jueteng
Jueteng
Jueteng is an illegal numbers game played in the Philippines. Jueteng originated from China and means "flower" and "bet" . Although illegal, it is a widely popular game with participation that crosses most, if not all social and economic boundaries, played by rich and poor alike...
) and at the time the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Lingayen-Dagupan is the Archdiocese in the Province of Pangasinan, on the island of Luzon. It's cathedral is St...
, spoke out in opposition to the demolition, as did the NGO Urban Poor Associates
Urban Poor Associates
Urban Poor Associates is a non-governmental organization registered with the Philippine government. It was established in 1992. Since then it has educated over 285,000 families in housing rights matters and assisted 510 communities in eviction crises. It has helped nearly 51,000 families, to...
. In early August, Swiss NGO Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions is a Geneva-based international non-governmental human rights organisation founded in 1994 by Scott Leckie as a foundation in the Netherlands .-Offices:...
also wrote a letter to then-President of the Philippines
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
to urge her to halt the evictions and to condemn the worsening living convictions faced by the residents due to the repeated demolition attempts.
The Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 issued a writ of execution
Writ of execution
A writ of execution is a court order granted in an attempt to satisfy a monetary judgment obtained by a plaintiff. When issuing a writ of execution, a court typically will order a sheriff or other similar official to take possession of property owned by a judgment debtor...
in relation to the memorandom on 13 August 2009. This writ ordered the settlers and the mosque to vacate the area peacefully, and warned that the court might use force to implement the order. The writ was delivered just shortly before the start of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
that year, leading to further consternation by the Muslims. In September, another Catholic priest, Fr. Robert Reyes, showed solidarity with the Muslim residents by joining them in their Ramadan fast, and expressed his opposition to the relocation.
Violent clash
On November 18, 2009, a violent clash occurred between the Muslim residents and Pasay CityPasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
police who were attempting to enforce the order to demolish the shanties surrounding the mosque. Roughly 170 shanties were demolished without incident, but among roughly 300 residents who had sought refuge in the mosque, some began throwing stones at the police. The police responded with gunfire, killing three residents, including a seven year-old boy, and injuring another seven. Nine of the police implementing the demolition order were also injured. The incident led to condemnation against the police by Anak Mindanao
Anak Mindanao
Anak Mindanao is a party-list in the Philippines, based in Mindanao.In the 2004 elections for the House of Representatives the party-list got 269,750 votes and one seat...
Party Rep. Mujiv Hataman. In early comments after the incident, the police stated that no one had died.
Aftermath
After the incident, the Philippine Reclamation Authority, and Pasay City mayor Wenceslao Trinidad, continued to state that they would pursue plans to relocate the mosque. However, in the short term, they stated that the mosque would remain in place and the transit center plans would seek to "integrate" the mosque. The proposed relocation site, Lot 1555 in Barangay Tambo, was also reportedly the object of a dispute between the government and a private individual. The individual in question, Dr. Bernardo de Leon, asserted that the lot at the corner of Kabihasnan Street and Coastal Road, was actually in Barangay San Dionisio, and belonged to his family after he had inherited it in 1984. Parañaque mayor Florencio Bernabe countered that the property had actually been handed over to the city government in payment of back taxes. The lot had been an object of dispute as far back as 1992, when Public Estate Authority security guards entered the compound and destroyed improvements made by De Leon and his family.External links
- Photo of the mosque on Panaramio
- Photos from the 2007 demolitions on Flickr, the rough location of the new proposed site