PRIMER AND OBJECTIVES
Injustices in Mindanao
Mindanao
- Most resource-rich region and home to
numerous ethnic and religious groups
- Setting of the four-decade, multifaceted, and
complicated ethnic conflict throughout
Philippine history
Mindanao/Moro Conflict
- A clash between two imagined nations: the
Filipino and the Moro
- Emerged because of the Philippines’ colonial
history
- Spanish and American colonial powers
separated the native population by
establishing a religious line—pitting Muslim
and Christian Filipinos against each other
Christian or western Moro identity
ideology
Seen as the norm or the Seen as the “other” and
standard of the Filipino not integrated into the
ethos homogeneous Filipino
society because of their
Muslim faith
- This divide persists even in the post-colonial
era
- Present in the discriminative policies of
various Philippine administrations
o Systemic marginalization
o Ethnic minoritization
- This contemporary conflict led to societal
fragmentation and divisions
o Peaked during President Ferdinand
Marcos’ Martial Law years
o Formation of the rebel insurgent
groups Moro National and Islamic
Liberation Fronts (MNLF and MILF)
Resolution
- The Philippine government has reached out to
different channels to aid in drafting accords
with the Moro insurgent forces
- Though the demands have dwindled down,
the need for the Moros’ sovereignty is still
present
Objectives
1. Provide historical context to understand the
problem at hand
2. Discuss the different standards at which the
conflict can be resolved, and the different
efforts made by the two parties at hand (PH
government & Moro community)
3. Discuss where the Catholic Church and the
Church itself stands amidst the conflict
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Injustices in Mindanao
Pre-colonial Era
- Tribal groups like the Negritos and Malays
have already established civilizations even
before colonization
o Systems of government (balangay
system)
o Community and descendancy (family
traditions, marriages, properties, etc.)
o Political practice and social systems
(lakan/datu, maharlika/timawa,
alipin/oripun)
o Traditions which greatly influenced
the systems we have at present
- These organically diversified into three major
regions: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao
- Islam arrived in the Philippines through
trade with Arab merchants and marked the
beginning of a cultural shift
o Did not involve conversion because of
the lack of a priestly structure unlike
Christianity
o More of a business decision because
of trade, not spiritual, as these
transactions fell under Muslim law
- This brought about a new government
system: the sultanate
o Began with the marriage of a Sulu
princess to the Sumatran sultan Abu
Bakr
o Led to a lot of datus embracing the
Islam religion and way of living and
have formed political networks
o The Sulu sultanate became the first
political bureaucracy in the Philippines
 - Eventually spilled over to the formation of the
different groups such as the Maguindanao,
Maranao, and Tausug moro groups (among
others)
- Islam made its mark on the country through
converting indigenous societies to strong
communities with their own system of
governance, political organization, moral
codes and ethics
o This made them resist more to the
inevitable colonization that soon
visited the Philippines
Spanish Colonial Period
- The arrival of the Spanish marked the end of
most indigenous cultures in the Philippines,
leaving a 333-year indelible mark on the
country’s history
- Magellan’s quest as part of Spain’s
conquistadores eventually led to one of the
first colonies in Cebu, and included the forced
conversion of the indigenous populations
to Catholicism
o Indios in Luzon and Visayas were
converted as the Spaniards felt it was
their duty to do so
- They failed to replicate this in Mindanao
because of the more established Islam
presence in the area, which they resented
- Moro resistance was branded by the
Spaniards as guerras piráticas or the pirate
wars as a cover up for this failure, but the
true nature of the resistance was to hold on
to their territory and way of life
o Christianized Filipinos joined the
Spaniards in this fight and thus began
the rift between the two groups
o The Spaniards capitalized on this
divide as propaganda, depicting the
Moros as savages and villainous
o They relocated Christians to parts of
Muslim Mindanao in efforts to
overpower them, sparking tensions
- Discrimination was institutionalized as the
Spaniards restricted trade routes to deplete
resources in the Muslim areas, but failed as
the Moros were able to maintain their
identities despite the challenges
o This spilled over to destabilizing
sultanates and displacing the Lumads,
producing deep-seated conflict even
until today
American Colonial Period
- As the United States gained control of the
Philippines through the Treaty of Paris in
1898, this ushered the contemporary struggle
of Muslim Mindanao
o Despite not being conquered by the
Spanish, the treaty included Mindanao
in the acquisition
o The Moros were attached to the
Philippines and the succeeding
colonization without their consent
- After trying to benevolently assimilate the
Filipinos and failing to do so, the United States
established the Philippine Organic Act of
1902 which reduced the Moros to being
subjects of American and Christian Filipino
rule
o Included changing their traditional
political structures, abolition of
indigenous social structures, and even
removal of slavery
o The Moros were resisting yet another
colonizing force, and as a result,
Mindanao and its Moro and Lumad
inhabitants were placed under
American military rule for a decade
- The Americans eventually (although violently)
integrated Mindanao as a region of the
Philippines in 1913
o This meant as a turning point for the
Moros as they lost their relative
autonomy
o They were further discriminated
through censuses that called them
uncivilized
- This cycle of injustice furthered into the
discriminatory land laws that the Americans
imposed, disregarding the original communal
system and privatizing it
o Supplemented by the resettlement
initiative (land-grabbing)
- The establishment of the Commonwealth
and the ravaging events of World War II
culminated the resurgence of the Moro
 people, not having granted special status and
with Mindanao becoming part of the Republic
of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.
Post-colonial Period
- The divide between the Christians and Moros
continued even after colonial rule, with
normalizing the divide and not necessarily
answering questions and issues about it
o Resettlement of Hukbalahap and
other Chinese settlers to Muslim-
majority Mindanao
o Addressing communist propaganda in
line with the US agenda
o Land-grabbing
- Though efforts were made to alleviate tension
by recognizing the Moro’s traditions during
the time of President Carlos P. Garcia, land
matters were still discriminatory
- Conditions worsened during then President
Ferdinand Marcos’s term as the Moro
insurgency and conflict peaked in its most
violent form
o Increased threats of communism
made Marcos intensify his efforts to
“retain” his power
o The nation was in a state of constant
unrest as corruption and human
rights violations were rampant
- Communal violence between Christians and
Muslims in Mindanao peaked in the 1970s
with gang violence
o Led to deaths of more than 200
Christians and 300 Muslims in one
incident
- The rising violence along with the “threat” of
communism and corruption eventually opted
Marcos to declare Martial Law
o Marcos pinned the declaration on the
rising violence in the South (despite
being lesser than before)
- The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
was formed because Moros opposed Marcos,
whose administration ignored the plight of
the Moros, and became the standard of the
Moro liberation movement at the time
o The Jabidah Massacre of 1968, the
supposed destabilization of Sabah and
frequent abuse of power contributed
to resurgences in Mindanao
- Unsatisfied with the MNLF’s lack of progress,
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was
formed. This movement was based purely on
Islam, which called for a sovereign Islamic
state.
o They wanted to wage war instead of
diplomatic talks
o Radical Islam revivalism
o Eventually leaned into more peaceful
methods calling for autonomy rather
than separation
The 1970s saw the most violent period in the MNLF’s
fight for the Bangsamoro Republik and the bloodiest
conflicts on Philippine territory since World War II.
Tripoli Agreement was signed by both the
government and the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) to provide an autonomous region in
Mindanao, along with a restructuring of the executive
branch of the government to accommodate peace
agreements for the Mindanaoan region.
Despite this provision, the Moros felt unsure and
claimed that the agreement was not genuinely
implemented as hostilities in 1977 occurred again
though at a lower degree.
As it is consistent with the Tripoli Agreement, Republic
Act No. 6734 known as the Organic Act passed in
1989, served as the constitution for the ARMM. It is
headed by a regional governor and vice governor for
the executive branch, the Regional Legislative
Assembly for the policy-making legislative branch, and
an appellate court to oversee personal and family
relation issues among Muslim residents.
Summary:
• There was a demand from the MNLF
to establish Bangsamoro Republic but
the Tripoli Agreement did not address
the demand.
• Tripoli Agreement – establish ARMM
(13 provinces) and freedom from
institutions necessary for the success
of the new autonomous region
• New region – establish their own court diversified aspirations of both Moro
system. and non-Moro communities. Despite
• The Jeddah Accord stated that the the events that transpired in Marawi
Philippine government and MNLF City, they are hopeful that the revised
panel agreed to continue discussions BBL can help strengthen efforts in
on the newly proposed scope of eradicating conflict and rebellion in
autonomy, “subject to democratic the region and assure the long-
processes.” awaited peace for Mindanao
• The Jeddah Accord failed since the
government did not meet the
demands of the MNLF
• As violence continued in Mindanao
despite the passage of the Organic Act
of 1989 at that time, a peace
agreement was signed between the
Philippine Government and the MNLF
during the term of President Fidel
Ramos in 1996. This agreement was
considered the most comprehensive
attempt to cease the violence in
Mindanao. The agreement pursued to
strengthen legislative powers of the
Regional Legislative Assembly in
relation to the previous Tripoli
Agreement under two Phases.
• The MNLF blamed the national
government for not generating the
necessary resources to provide the
population of the ARMM with basic
goods and services, leaving the region
to continue its struggle with extreme
poverty.
• The Senate renamed the BBL as the
Basic Law for the Bangsamoro
Autonomous Region (BLBAR) in order
to redefine its provisions on power
sharing with an emphasis on Manila’s
greater authority.
• The rule of law is requisite for a
lasting, sustainable peace. It is
essential to prevent and resolve
violent conflict, achieve justice, and
maintain peace and security, among
others
• In 2017, the new proposed BBL was
submitted to President Rodrigo
Duterte for signing. According to its
proponents, the revisedBBL is now
more inclusive and is comprised of the