Markus Nocho

In a new interview with LIGA ng Bayan in November, Dr. Karima Nocho said that a young man’s sexual relationship with his mother were the last vestiges of Islamic teachings in Filipino society, and their sexual relations were no longer practised as such even when they were married in Islamic courts.

The interview was conducted in Komi, Philippines, where Dr. Nocho, who she came to know personally from late 1977 through early 1992, is attending her advanced graduate program, and although she still calls Nagturo, her hometown, home, she still believes in its roots.

Dr. Nocho, 58, who is professor of biology at University of Sarangani, Kalaw District, Bicol, believes in the existence and importance of the Mindanao mind-spirit interaction phenomenon. When asked “Why did the Muslims gradually abandon their centuries-old approach to sexual education?”, Dr. Nocho replied, “It all stems from the time it was first introduced in the early 1960s.”

Her short statement was translated into Lingala by the College for Mass Communication, under whom she had majored in communications in the early 1970s.

Alvin Iskola, who interviewed Dr. Nocho shortly after the latter returned from Japan, noted that while Dr. Nocho stated that her original contention was “this is a matter of belief”, “we tried to hear her out on it, to try to have an intelligent exchange of ideas.”

With regards to the religious reasons behind these changes, Dr. Nocho clarified that her understanding was that there are three spheres of life that we must understand if we are to have an intellectual orientation, which is one part religion, one part thought, and another part science.

However, she added, the following dialogue also addresses other issues:

Q. Why did the Muslims gradually abandon their centuries-old approach to sexual education?

A. It all derives from the time it was first introduced in the early 1960s. I think it was first introduced in the mid-1950s. Our schooling has been going on since then.

Q. What brought about this change?