The Lanao Advisory Council composed of 21 sultanates in the Philippines has conferred on Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr., 3rd Infantry Division commander, the traditional title of “Masiricampo”, or “Peacemaker” of the Sultanate of Panay, recently in Roxas City, Capiz.

Maj. Enrico Gil Ileto, 3ID spokesperson, said yesterday the conferment was made by Sultan Hadji Abdullah Disomimba, Sultan of Masiu and chairman of the 16 Royal Houses of Lanao, in recognition of Mabanta’s commitment to keep the spirit of peace and order in Panay island, and the services he rendered to the Muslims.

Ileto said the conferment is a fitting tribute, not only to Mabanta, but to the entire Army in general. “It is how both Muslims and Christians perceived the Army today, as guardian of peace and the protector of the people’s rights,” he added.

Mabanta supervises the internal security campaign of the Philippine Army in Panay and Negros islands.

The conferment also coincided with the creation of the Sultanate of Panay, headed by Sultan Cipriano Querol, a police general and chief of the Western Visayas PNP.

There are about 10,000 Muslims doing business and residing in Panay, excluding those in Negros Occidental.

The Sultanate of Panay is the newest addition to the existing sultanates in the Philippines as declared by the Lanao Advisory Council. The 20 others are in Mindanao.

Disomimba, who is also the mayor of Tamparan town in Lanao del Sur, in a Royal Decree signed May 26 in Roxas City, Capiz, issued a certification pursuant to Executive Order 602, recognizing the Sultanate of Panay and decreeing the appointment of administrative officers. EO 602, signed by then President Gloria Arroyo on February 8, 2007, established the LAC.*GPB

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