THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION AND ITS
AFTER-EFFECTS
By: Peter Gordon Gowing
World War II: September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945
December 1941- 700,000 Moros in the southern
Philippines
Davao and Jolo - invaded right away
Cotabato and Lanao - invaded in April 1942
USAFFE: United States Army Forces in the Far East
(Moros served in these forces)
General Wainwright ordered USAFFE to surrender
Sultan of Ramain, Alaoya Alonto (cooperated with the
Japanese to ease the suffering of the people) - a month
before war had been elected to the Senate in the
Commonwealth, also wrote a letter to an American
colonel commanding guerillas in Mindanao
§ He sold rice to the enemy but also tipped off the
guerillas who intercepted when they had the
chance
Moro leaders who went along with the Japanese to
protect their people: The people understood their
intentions which is why they were elected to responsible
government offices after the war
1. Ombra Amilibangsa
2. Salih Ututalum
3. Guamu Rasul of Sulu
4. Sinsuat Balabaran
5. Memandang Piang of Cotabato
Sulu - guerillas operated in the interior of Tawi-Tawu
island and in a few places on Jolo Island
Cotabato - guerillas organized by Datu Salipada Pendatun
with brother-in-law Datu Udtog Matalam, guerillas were
both Muslims and Christians, Maranaos resorting to their
much tested ambush and “hit and run” tactics
Japanese - only controlled a Cotabato town and
agricultural colonies around Koronadal and Allah Valley
Lanao - a functioning “Free Lanao” civil government
exercised greater authority
Tamparan - 129 Japanese soldiers slain in an ambush by
Maranao guerillas at Tamparan on the east side of Lake
Lanao, Japanese retaliated by bombing the surrounding
areas for 26 days
American submarines based in Australia supplied
guerillas
3 Important After-Effects on the relationship of the
Moros to the PH nation in the postwar period:
1. While the war in some instances aggravated Muslim-
Christian animosity, in other instances it welded
Muslim-Christian alliances which continued after the
war. Muslims found satisfaction in fighting side-by-
side with the Christians against a common invader
o Pres. Sergio Osmeña (succeeded to
Presidency after Quezon’s death in 1944)
appointed Muslim guerillas to political office
after liberation
o Datu Salipada Pendatun - Governor of
Cotabato
o Datu Manalao Mindalano - executive ibe
committee of the Philippine Veterans Legion
in Manila
o Seatis in the House of Representatives: Datus
Mindalano, Gumbay Piang of Cotabato,
Ombra Amilbangsa of Sulu
2. Reparation payments and backpay awards to many
Moros officially recognized as former guerillas
resulted in a significant increase of monied wealth in
Moroland
3. Widespread distribution of arms and ammunition
Cooperation of the Civilian Population:
The fight created a unity of the Americans, Filipino
Christians, and Muslims to fight and never surrender even
against the odds, even though they were ordered to
surrender. This unity also created one of the largete
guerilla fighters known as the 10th Military District
USEFIP that helped the defense in Mindanao.
Two Types of Sympathizers:
1. Those who stayed in the unoccupied areas where
they help with the fight and act as a spy and
informers
2. Those who help by giving medical support for the
fighters
HISTORY OF FILIPINO MUSLIMS AND THE
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF MINSUPALA
Datu Hadji Kamlon (Maas Kamlon) - Tausug
Republic Act No. 1888 in 1957 - Commission on
National Integration (CNI): The commission was
mandated to “foster, accelerate, and accomplish by all
adequate means and in a systematic, rapid, and complete
manner the moral, material, economic, social, and
political advancement of the non-Christian Filipinos and
to render real, complete, and permanent the integration of
all said national cultural minorities into the national body
politic.” (statement was a rehashed policy of the Bureau
of non-Christian Tribes established in 1917)
Moro Problem: “As an individual, the Muslim refuses to
concede that he is a part of the entire Filipino community.
He identifies himself by his religion.”
In Luzon and Visayas, the word Moro (with all its
derogatory implication) is a mother’s household weapon
of social control for misbehaving children
North Cotabato Problem (microcosm of the Moro
problem): Blames the government for neglect, apathy, and
antipathy towards minority groups. Everyone must
recognize their own contribution to the problem in order
to contribute to finding a solution
Diaspora – a scattered population with a common origin
in a smaller geographic area, the spread or dispersion of
people from their homelands
Diaspora of the Moros:
I. Massacre in the Rock (Corregidor, The Rock
Island)
President Diosdado Macapagal
• Close to the heart of the Moros
• Formally intiated and put forth the Sabah claim in
1962 through peaceful and diplomatic channels
Operation Merdeka and the Jabidah Massacre: Mar.
17, 1968 (Marcos Administration)
§ Approximately 180 of the recruits are Moros who
underwent training in Simunul, Jabidah
§ Massacre of 64 Moros
§ Jibin Arula - lone survivor
§ Manuel Syquio – project leader
§ Major Eduardo Martelino – operations officer
o Direct supervision of the Civil Affairs oFfice
of the President
o Once a Christian, adopted the Muslim name
“Abdulatif” after marrying a Moro lass by
the name of Safia or Safiya
§ General Romeo Espina – AFP Chief of Staff and
Director
§ Pres. Marcos – Commander-in-Chief and Producer
II. The Founding of MIM
The bloodbath at Corregidor:
a. Angered the Malaysians including Sabah Chief
Minister Datu Tun Mustapha Haron
b. Jolted the Moros and their leaders, particularly
Cotabato Governor Datu Udtog
• Created an Islamic Republic of Mindanao in answer
to the alleged systematic policy of the genocide,
discrimination, and dispossession of land pursued
vigorously by the government
• On May 1, 1968, he organized the Muslim and later
Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM), which
sought to form a state comprising the contiguous
southern portion of the Philippine archipelago
Manifesto Issued by the MIM:
1. It is a recognized principle underlying the Charter of
the United Nations and the Declaration of Human
Rights that all peoples consisting of the minority in a
given state posses the right to self-determination
2. That the Islamic World Congress has affirmed the
above principles, particularly the right of Muslims
who are the minority in non-Muslim states, to self-
determination
3. That the systematic extermination of the Muslim
youth – like the Corregidor Fiasco – and the policy of
the isolation and dispersal of the Muslim
communities have been pursued vigorously by the
government to the detriment of the Muslims; and
4. That Islam, being a communal religion – an ideology
and a way of life – must have a definite territory for
the exercise of its tenets and teachings, and for the
observance of its laws
The text of the Manifesto was forwarded to UN Sec. Gen.
U Thant and copies were also furnished to all heads of
Muslim states and to Pres. Marcos
President Ferdinand Marcos
• At this point in time, he was about to run for his
second term, beyond which the Philippine
Constitution barred his from seeking a third term
• His declaration of Martial Law in 1972 and his stay
in office for more than 20 years substantiated beyond
the doubt the allegations that he indeed had dictatorial
ambitions
III. The Rats Strike
§ ILAGA: Ilongo Land Grabbers Association
§ The emergence of the Ilagas was allegedly attributed
to threats posed by MIM to the Christians in Cotabato
§ Founded in September 1970 by the Magnificent
Seven. In 1972, the Associated Press, an American
wire service, reported that the Ilaga organization
was the brainchild of seven Christian leaders of
Cotabato
1. Wenceslao de la Cerna of Alamad
2. Nicholas Dequina of Midsayap
3. Pacifico de la Cerna of Libungan
4. Bonifacio Tejada of Mlang
5. Condrado Lemana of Tulunan
6. Jose Escribano of Tacurong
7. Esteban Doruelo of Pigkayawan
8. PC Capt. Tronco of Upi
§ Feliciano Luces
o Ilaga chief
o Alias Commander “Toothpick”
o From Upi, Cotabato
§ March 22, 1970 – launched an attack on a Moro
village that left horrifying trademarks on the victims
§ Other Ilaga movements later sprouted in other areas
of Cotabato, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte,
Zamboanga del Sur
Mindanao-Sulu Crisis:
§ A crisis in human affairs is an unstable or critical
period when a terrible situation will either get
better or worse
§ In the late 1970s, the situation in Moroland had
worsened, and by the early 1970s had reached
crisis proportions
3 events in particular helped to precipitate the crisis in
Mindanao and Sulu:
1. The Jabidah Massacre - the killing of 28
Muslim recruits for “Operation Merdeka”
a. Rapid deterioration in Philippine-
Malaysian relations
b. Few of the Moros paid attention and
mostly thought that Sabah was better off
with Muslim Malaysia than with
Christian Philippines
2. Muslim Independence Movement (MIM) –
aimed at the establishment of an Islamic Republic
and Sulu
a. Headed by Governor Datu Udtog
Matalam on May 1, 1968
b. The “Jabidah Massacre” also infuriated a
small group of Muslim intellectuals and
students in Manila which lead to the
establishment of Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF)
i. Leaders include Nur Misuari of
Sulu (instructor at UP) and
Abdul Khayr Alonto of Lanao
del Sur (law student at San Beda
College)
c. Violence broke out in Cotabato and
Lanao del Norte, the two regions most
impacted by Christian migration from
mid-1970 to early 1971
d. By the early 1970s, relations between
Muslims and Christians had deteriorated
to the point where Christians no longer
saw any benefit from working with
Muslims on political issues, leading to
sharp divide as the election neared
3. Ilaga Bandits – fighting to the rise of Moro
armed men termed as “Blackshirts”
a. Led by an Ilonggo settler Feliciano Luces
alias “Toothpick” in 1970, North
Cotabato
è “Manili Massacre” – June 19, 1971
• 72 people killed
• Deaths of 65 Moro Muslim civilians in a mosque
in, which included men, women, and children
• Conflict in Buldon and Ampatuan in North
Cotabato between the Philippine Constabulary
and Blackshirts led to the massacre
• When November elections drew near, an ex-
commander of the Philippine Constabulary who
is a Christian won, and the majority of
municipalities elected Christian mayors
• On July 4, 1971, a grenade detonated inside a
mosque in Wao, one of the relatively few
 localities in the province of Lanao del Sur with a Front-Runners:
sizable Christian population. Across 60 Muslim
a. Salamat Hashim
families were evacuated across the mountains to
Lake Lanao
b. Nur Misuari
• Around 30,000 Muslims, Christians, and Tirurays c. Dr. Saleh Loong
were compelled to leave Early 1973: Nur Misuari moved to Sabah,
è “Tacub Massacre” Malaysia, where he established his headquarters
• A Christian governor and a Muslim congressman
December 1973: Hashim proceeded to Tripoli,
were the most powerful politicians in Lanao del
Libya via Sabah from Cotabato for consultations,
Norte, but changed from being political partners
to bitter rivals and to assume a new assignment in the foreign
• In 1971, groups of armed Muslims, called service.
“Barracudas”, started committing crimes in 1975: Expanded MNLF Central Committee
communities along the northern coastline a. Foreign Affairs: Salamat Hashim
• Christian Ilagas confronted them and by b. Committee on Information (Chairman):
September, fighting had intensified, forcing both Abdurasad Asani
Muslims and Christians to flee to the islands of c. Committee on Information (Secretary
Iligan and Ozamiz General): Abebakrin Lucman
• An estimated 50,000 people were forced to
evacuate March 1978: Abulkhayr Alonto and his
• A 22-man Constabulary patrol was ambushed by followers surrendered to the government, so
Barracudas in the town of Magsaysay in late Salamat Hashim took over the position and
October, resulting in the deaths of 17 of the 22 became the vice chairman of the central
troops committee.
• The next day, a revenge ambush that also took B. Founding of the BMLO
place in Magsaysay, 66 Muslims were killed in C. Dawning of the MILF
retaliation, confirming that the Ilagas were behind D. Entry and Exif of the MNLF-Reformist
this
• Happened during special elections in November
22, 1971
• Prior to the incident, Capt. Tronco (Christian)
who was related to Kumander “Toothpick” ran
against the mayoralty candidate Michael “Datu
Puti” Sinsuat (Muslim) in Upi, Cotabato
• Aboard 5 trucks, a group of Maranaos who were
on their way home from Magsaysay. In a
checkpoint in Tacub, they were asked to comply
to the orders of the military men.
• Around 60 were dead though only 40 were
accounted for
• The “Mindanao War” claimed 800 lives by the
end of 971 and there were 100,000 refugees
• In 1972, the violence moved to Balabagan and
Zamboanga del Sur, where Ilaga bands first arose

THE QUEST FOR SURVIVAL

By: Salah Jubair

Formation of the Liberation Fronts:

A. Birth of the Moro and National Liberation
Front
The founding of the MNLF was made in 1969 by
young secular-minded Moro students and
professionals in manila. MNLF was made public
and started to claim credit for the series of
fighting in Mindanao and sulu in early 1973.
Seven-Man Provisional Committee:
1. Chairman: Nur Misuari
2. Vice Chairman: Abdulkhayr Alonto
3. Ottoi Salahuddin
4. Ali Alibon
5. Lumet Hassan
6. Sali Wali
7. Salamat Hashim
1972: Nomination of permanent chairman of the
central committee takes place in Sabah