Jessica Sheena A.

Acuña Social Science 199 JB

2008 – 46518 December 15, 2010

Muslim Separatism is Southern Mindanao

The problem of secession of the Muslim South had been a problem of the Philippines
since the 1970s. Many talks and agreements have been made but nothing yet had been
successful. There are many assumptions onto why the problem in the South up to these days
remains unresolved. Their histories that were written by their fellow Muslims, however, are very
few that is why their side of this issue is very questionable to others. There are many different
Muslim groups in the country whose aim is to fight for Muslim rights but all of them have been
viewed negatively by the public eye. Many have been written about these Muslim groups but
most that were written were very derogative which was due to the fact that many of these written
materials were made by non – Muslims. There are very few literature that presents the ideas and
beliefs of these Muslim groups.
Historical Perspective
The History of the Muslims in the Philippines traces back to its roots even before the
Spaniards arrived. Spaniards deemed the Muslims of the South as undesirable an alien intrusion
that needed to be removed from the.1 The Spaniards saw the Muslims this way because the
Muslims have been their worst enemy among the ethnic groups in the Philippines. They could
easily ward off all other groups that tried to attack them but never the Muslims. Also, the
Muslims had never shown any interest in converting into Christianity which is another reason
why the Spaniards hated them.
According to Jeffrey Milligan, another reason why the conflict between the two
immediately ignited when the Spaniards came was because the Muslims saw a rival of its own.
Islam had arrived in the Philippines in the 14th century brought by Muslim traders and
missionaries from other Southeast Asian countries. It had first arrived in the southern
Philippines. When Islam came, it had brought with it social and political structures which had
made it possible for Muslims in Mindanao to manipulate non – Muslims in Mindanao that time.
Another work of Muslims during that time was conducting expeditions which they have been
quite successful for they have founded Muslim communities in Manila. When the Spaniards

1
Cesar Adib Majul. The Moro Struggle in the Philippines. April 1998. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 2. p.897.

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arrived in the 16th century, their mission was to convert the people in the islands and for
territorial expansion – which was quite similar to what the Muslims have been all along doing.
Seeing the Spaniards goal, the Muslims of the South had seen a rival in them.2
The Spaniards conversion of the people of the Islands of the North had been a little
devastating for the Muslims of the South because that was what they were doing for the last two
centuries. When the Spaniards came in the Philippines, the northward expansion of Islam had
also stopped. According to Milligan, this was the reason that provoked or started the conflict
between the Muslims and Christians. The Spaniards had tried very hard to put into their control
the Muslims of the South. They were willing to do it either by negotiation or by military
subjugation.3 The Spaniards had been quite successful in claiming authority in the Sultanate of
Sulu, Zamboanga and Cotabato, however the most parts of Mindanao remained Islamic.
The Spaniards had always respected or somehow accepted the sovereignty of the Sultans
of Mindanao. They had signed treaties and agreements with them but they Spaniards never
abandoned their though of conquering the South. According to Cesar Adib Majul, during the last
two decades of Spanish rule in the Philippines had the Muslims only accepted the sovereignty of
Spain in the Philippines. They had accepted it because there were some factors brought about by
Spanish colonization which lead to the eventual loss of the Sultanate system in Mindanao – the
disruption of maritime trade, destruction of Muslim farms and lands that were brought about by
the constant war that the two groups had been having and decrease in population due to famine,
diseases and Spanish military expeditions. 4
When the United States arrived in the Philippines, their main goal was to ‘civilize the
5
uncivilized world.’ There were data showing that when the Americans arrived in the
Philippines, 80 percent of the population had already been Christianized and somehow exposed
to the Western culture and civilization. 6 However, the case with the Muslims with the South had
been another issue. The Muslims in the South were able to preserve some of its tradition
including the datu system of political leadership. They had different system of governance – like
land ownership – and were not familiar with those that were imposed by the Spanish
2
Jeffrey Ayala Milligan. Teaching between the Cross and the Crescent Moon: Islamic Identity, Postcoloniality, and
Public Education in the Southern Philippines. November 2003. Comparative Education Review, Vol. 47, No. 4. p. 469
– 470.
3
Ibid. p. 470.
4
Cesar Adib Majul. p. 897
5
Jeffrey Ayala Milligan. p. 470
6
Cesar Adib Majul. p. 897

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government. The United Stated had considered the Muslims of the South as strange and foreign
and they hoped that Islam would fade away as they introduce US institutions in the Philippines.7
The Americans, too, had been brutal to the Muslims of the South who had refused to
accept the Pax Americana. According to Milligan, thousands of Muslim Filipinos had died in
resistance to the United States rule. Their fight for had lasted until the 1920s. 8 However, in the
1920s, the American colonizers had discovered that the history of the Muslims in the Philippines
goes far back the Spanish colonization they had not interfered the Muslim tradition after that –
except abolishing certain Muslim traditions like slavery.9 According to Milligan, this may also be
because of the fact that the American colonizing officers were not capable of handling the
10
Muslims so they had decided to let the Muslims be on their own. However, the American had
sent over the South several facilities and institutions which were, according to them, will help the
Muslims. Though there was quite a resistance towards this, several datu of Mindanao had agreed
to be under tutelage of the American for their preparation of independence. When the
Commonwealth had been established, it also marked the beginning of the Muslim local leaders’
participation into national politics. However, in the 1950s, problems had started to arise in the
South due to land disputed between the Muslims and Christians. Investigations showed that this
dispute had caused the law and order to break down. These land disputes were caused by the
resettlement of the government of some Christians to the south. Since the land systems of the
Muslims were based on the traditions and not the titles, problems started arising. The
resettlement of Christian groups in the Mindanao area had created a Christian majority there.
The Muslims resented that the Christian areas in Mindanao had better facilities than that
of with them. This resentment had lead to the creation of the Commission of National Integration
which aimed to uplift the economy of the Muslims and they also believe that this would
eventually lead to the integration of the Muslims into the mainstream. They had failed in their
economic goals but were successful education. They were able to send hundreds of young
Muslims to higher education in the cities which resulted to the awareness and exposure to
urbanization and modernization.11

7
Ibid.
8
Milligan. 471.
9
Majul. p.898
10
Milligan, p. 471.
11
Majul, 900.

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 In 1961, to draw attention to the economic problem, the congressman of Sulu then,
Ombra Amilbangsa, had filed a bill that aimed for the independence of Sulu. His colleagues had
seen this as a political stint to improve the name of his family while press saw this a nostalgia
from the pass. However, the Muslims in the South had taken this very seriously. This bill never
became a law.12
However, the years that followed that, which was Nasser’s rule in Egypt had allowed
scholarship of the Muslims to the Al – Azhar University in Egypt. Their stay in there had
brought about deeper understanding of their religion and exposure to reformist tendencies. Those
scholars had brought back with them the new information they had acquired in Egypt. This also
brought about the help from other Islamic communities outside the country. They were able to
better their transportation facilities. Also these scholars from Egypt had brought with them
political sophistication. 13
1968 had started the coalition and unification of several Muslim groups. The incident that
had ignited this unification was the ‘Jabidah Massacre’. 180 Muslims that were recruited and
believed to have received orders from former President Ferdinand Marcos had been sent to
Corregidor for what was believed to be a training for warfare and guerilla tactics but what
happened was the execution of about 30 Muslims. The military had denied this accusation
however, investigations had shown many inconsistencies amongst the testimonies of the
officials. Orders from the President himself was to stop the investigation and the talks regarding
this issue so the press just forgot this incident – but the Muslims never did. This incident had
resulted into many different demonstrations of Muslim groups. One of the most prominent
leaders of these demonstrations was Nur Misuari. He was then a political science professor in the
University of the Philippines. In 1972, Misuari had established the Moro National Liberation
Front which had an open rebellion against the government. Other Muslim groups had also been
established following the Jabidah Massacre. The government feared the rising of the groups
because these groups were accompanied by arms and military power. Another result of the
Jabidah Massacre was the beginning of the foundation of many private armies in Mindanao. 14

12
Ibid.
13
Ibid. 901-902
14
Ibid. 902 – 904.

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 The election in 1971 had presented a major shift in political power in Mindanao. Majority
of those who won were Christians. Because of this, the Muslims felt threatened more than ever.
15
The proclamation of the Martial Law had brought the prominence of Muslims groups with the
aim to protect their fellow Muslims during this period. In 1975, talks were made between the
government and the MNLF leaders. MNLF had demanded the autonomy of five Muslim areas
namely Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi – Tawi and Palawan. The government had not approved.
Nothing was made out of this conference. Many more talks had been made but the government
always rejected the proposition made by the MNLF. In 1977, the government eventually
established autonomy of two regions, namely Region IX (Sulu, Tawi – Tawi, Basilan,
Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur) and Region XII (Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur,
North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat). Officials of these regions themselves had
seen that the autonomy given to them were not real. Most of the Presidentia appointees in those
areas were Marcos cronies and the two regions could not really act without the approval of the
President. 16
In 1986, when President Marcos was beaten by Corazon Aquino in the election, progress
for the Muslims was seen. Many Muslims were in support of President Aquino. During the
Jabidah Massacre, her husband was one of those who had exposed the massacre into public. In
1990, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao was created under her rule. However, even
though autonomy were already given to them, there were still many issues that were failed to be
discussed, thus leading to more conflicts and armed warfare between the government and
Muslim groups, particularly the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a breakaway faction of the
MNLF. Fighting in the area had lead to economic devastation in the area.

The 1996 Peace Agreement

The 1996 Peace Agreement was a signed agreement between the MNLF and the
government. The first attempt of agreement between the two groups was the Tripoli agreement
during the Marcos era but that had failed due to the difference in interpretation between the two
groups. During the time of Corazon Aquino, talks were also made but they had failed. This was
partly due to the fact that Corazon Aquino was too much preoccupied by the military coups in
her time. The time of Ramos had signified a stronger democratic rule which made the Muslims
15
Ibid. 905
16
Ibid 905 - 912

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of that time, especially the MNLF, confident that their wishes would be granted. The group had
seen this because Ramos had accepted the principle of an enlarged autonomous region. Another
factor that made the MNLF confident was that over the years, their organization had significantly
weakened. What they were offering with the Ramos administration in exchange for the
autonomy of Mindanao was their peace.
The 1996 Peace Agreement provided for a two – phased implementation of the 1976
Tripoli agreement. Firstly, it had created a temporary administrative body which was called the
Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development which would supervise the
implementation of the agreement over a three – year transition period. The second phase of this
agreement was the establishment of an autonomous government in replacement of the ARMM
and the SPCPD. The new government would consist of 14 provinces and 9 cities. This new
government will also include the representation of the region in the national government, the
creation of special regional security forces, inclusion of Islamic curriculum in the education and
the right to establish Shari’ah courts.17
The SPCPD was only an administrative body but was not allowed to implement policies
and the like. MNLF leader Nur Misuari was appointed as chairman of the SPCPD and the
government had supported him in his candidacy as governor in ARMM. It was believed that the
agreement would be successful since Misuari is the head of both institutions. 18
However, this agreement only constitutes or makes up for the political grievances
between the Muslims and the government. There were still many issues that were left
unresolved, like the land ownership and relationship between Muslims and non – Muslim
groups.19 The 1996 Peace Agreement only tackles the grievances of the MNLF which were the
Muslims’ right to difference and self – governance. By recognizing this, it had removed the
threat to the Muslims way of life which was brought about by the several decades of hostility
towards them that was due to the Christianization of the Philippines. The ultimate autonomy for
them would be that that will permit them to preserve their Muslim identity.20
However, the agreement had somehow brought dissatisfaction to people. Nur Misuari
was accused of corruption and mismanagement. Despite of this accusation, the fact still remains
17
Jacques Bertrand. Peace and Conflict in the Southern Philippines: Why the 1996 Peace Agreement is Fragile.
2000. Pacific Affairs, Vol. 73, No.1. pp. 37 – 54.
18
Ibid p. 41
19
Ibid. p.42
20
Ibid. p. 43 – 44.

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that funding and resources for this particular project was quite unsatisfactory and lacking. The
rumors of corruption and mismanagement had tarnished the name of the ARMM, Misuari and
the Peace Agreement. This issue had lead to the failure of the Peace Agreement.21

Conclusion
Muslim groups were established and founded in determination to fight for the rights of
the Muslims which were quite removed from them from the long conflict between the Muslims
and non – Muslims majority. The historical perspective of the problem had shown many
different angles to the issue but all stories end the same. The government had been lacking focus
on the Muslim problem in the South. They deemed that the problem in the South is not much as
important as any other economic problems. Many peace talks were made between the two groups
but most of those talks ended the same – unproductive. The government refused to listen to the
side and arguments of the Muslims and the Muslims doesn’t agree for less than what they
wanted. Muslim groups that were founded had deemed very important in issue for secession of
Muslim Mindanao since these groups are the main actors in fighting for this issue. These groups
had been the ones conversing with the government and demanding for the rights of the Muslims.
However good the intentions of these groups are they are still viewed by the majority negatively
due to the grievances that were already implanted to the minds of non – Muslims and without the
cooperation from the government and the majority, they will still not be able to achieve their
goals for autonomy or any other requests and resolution to other problems they have like the land
ownership issue.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Jacques Bertrand. Peace and Conflict in the Southern Philippines: Why the 1996 Peace
Agreement is Fragile. 2000. Pacific Affairs, Vol. 73, No.1. pp. 37 – 54.

21
Ibid. 46

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 Cesar Adib Majul. The Moro Struggle in the Philippines. April 1998. Third World
Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 2. pp. 897-922

Jeffrey Ayala Milligan. Teaching between the Cross and the Crescent Moon: Islamic
Identity, Postcoloniality, and Public Education in the Southern Philippines. November 2003.
Comparative Education Review, Vol. 47, No. 4. pp.468-192

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