A Brief History of the

Bangsamoro People
By Jet T. Castillo

Pre-Colonial Times

Islamization of Mindanao and Sulu

Islam entered Minadanao and Sulu around 150 years
before the arrival of Magellan.
The first Muslim preacher was Mudum, who came from
Arabia.
Other Muslim preachers followed. They came from
present-day Indonesia and Malaysia. They were Abu
Bakr, Sharif Kabungsuan, and Raha Baginda.

Golden Age of the Sultanate of Sulu

The Sultanate of Sulu
was a very prominent
kingdom then.
Traders from all over Asia
go to Sulu.
It is at the exact center of
Southeast Asia

How we got Sabah

It had close ties with the Sultanate of Brunei because
the 2 sultans were actually relatives.
The Sultan of Brunei gave the Sultan of Sulu a vast
land- Sabah, for helping him squelch a rebellion in his
kingdom.
Thus, for centuries, Sabah was governed by the Sultan
of Sulu, and the people there and people of Sulu
consider themselves as one family.

Spanish Times

Moro Wars
When the Spaniards arrived in the
Philippines, Mindanao and Sulu were
untouched. Only Visayas and Luzon were
ruled by the Spaniards.
A few parts of Mindanao fell to the
Spaniards, like Zamboanga City, Dapitan,
Cagayan de Oro, and Davao. But the
greater part of the South remained free
and Islamic.
The Moros successfully repelled the
Spanish invaders for more than 300
years.

Moro Wars
The Moros were able to preserve their culture, religion,
and Sabah, away from Spanish influence; while their
brothers and sisters in Luzon and Visayas became
highly Hispanized.

American Period

Bates Treaty
When Spain sold the Philippines to the US in the 1898
Treaty of Paris, Mindanao was part of the deal even
though Spain had no complete control of the region.
1899- Gen. John Bates made friends with the Sultan of
Sulu, and signed a treaty with the sultan agreeing to put
his territory under American administration, but he will
maintain his religious leadership over his people.

Moro-American War
1902 war broke out between the Moros and the US
colonial army
1915 The Moro-American War ended with the signing
of the Kiram-Carpenter Agreement
Several American laws put Moro lands under US colonial
domain.

Quirino-Recto Colonization Bill

1938 During the Commonwealth Period, Senators
Quirino and Recto provided the colonization of
Mindanao by settlers from Luzon and Visayas.
1939 the massive influx of settlers began in
Dadiangas. The office in-charge of the colonization was
the National Land Settlement Administration led by Gen.
Paulino Santos. Later on, Dadiangas was renamed Gen.
Santos City.

Philippine Independence
When America gave us our independence in 1946, we
became a big and diverse nation composed of Luzon,
Visayas, and Mindanao.
There was peace in Mindanao at that time. Muslims and
Christians co-existed peacefully in the South.

The Start of the War in Mindanao

It started with the Loss of Sabah

Flashback to the 1800: a British
citizen came to Southeast Asia
and RENTED Sabah from the
Sultan of Sulu. The British used
that territory for their
agricultural business.
Aside from renting Sabah, the
British colonized other
territories in Southeast AsiaSarawak, Malaya, and
Singapore.

It started with the Loss of Sabah

After World War 2, the British started
freeing its colonies. They put
together 4 territories Sarawak,
Malaya, Singapore, and Sabah- to
form one country called THE
FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA.
A year later, Singapore bolted from
the federation and became a
separate country.
Thus, Malaysia became a country
with 3 regions- Malaya, Sarawak, and
Sabah.

How we lost Sabah

The Sultan of Sulu and the President of the
Republic of the Philippines (Diosdado
Macapagal, 1962) protested the inclusion of
Sabah in the new country, Malaysia.
But Malaysia wouldnt return Sabah to us
anymore, up to today.
The government of Malaysia is still paying
the relatives of the Sultan of Sulu P77,000
per year for the rental of Sabah, but refuses
to return the territory to us.

The Grand Plan to Invade Sabah

When Ferdinand Marcos became President in 1965, he
planned to get back Sabah by force (because diplomacy
wouldnt work in the time of Macapagal). He secretly
planned Oplan Merdeka.
The plan was to recruit and train young Moro men from
Sulu to become secret agents who would infiltrate in
Sabah society (like the movie, Salt).

The Grand Plan to Invade Sabah

The Moro men from Sulu are the perfect secret agents
because the Sabah people wouldn't think that they are
enemies because they are distant relatives from
centuries ago.
On Marcos signal, the secret agents would
simultaneously attack and kill key officials in Sabah, and
thus grab power in a twinkling of an eye!

The Jabidah Massacre

But the plan didnt work out as expected.
The Moro recruits were brought to Corregidor Island for
their training.
Upon learning that their mission was to attack and kill
their brothers in Sabah, they had a mutiny against their
training officers.
To stop the mutiny, they were massacred in Corregidor.
This was the Jabidah Massacre.
It was kept a secret for a long time, until a former
journalist-turned-senator revealed the massacre in one of
his speeches.

The Mindanao Conflict

That Senator was Benigno Aquino, Jr., the no.1 critic of
President Marcos.
Hes the husband of Cory Aquino, and the father of
Noynoy Aquino and Kris Aquino.
When the Moros in Mindanao learned about the Jabidah
Massacre, they were furious. They took up arms and
wanted to be a separate country from the Philippines.
Armed groups, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were formed
to carry out an armed struggle for their independence.

The ARMM
The conflict raged on through several decades.
In 1996, President Fidel V. Ramos forged a peace
deal with the MNLF.
The Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) was created and it appeased the MNLF
because its leaders got seats of power in the said
autonomous region. They surrendered their arms to
our government.

The ARMM
But the MILF was left out in the deal, thus they
continued their armed struggle.
Things became worse when President Erap Estrada
declared an all-out war against the MILF in 2000.

The BBL
Today, our government is trying to come up with
another peace deal, this time, with the MILF.
The Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will create an
expanded autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, with
the MILF personalities expected to be its key leaders.
They will have their own set of lawmakers to make proIslamic laws, its own police force, own mayors and
provincial administrators, and budget coming from the
Manila government amounting to around P70 billion per
year.

The Big Question

Will the BBL finally establish lasting peace in Mindanao?

Wait, theres more!!!

Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

a.k.a. Bongbong
Senator Bongbong Marcos claims he is drafting a better
version of the Bangsamoro Bill.
It will include the other indigenous people of Mindanao,
called Lumads.
Muslims are not the only indigenous people in
Mindanao.

Will there ever be lasting peace in

Mindanao?

Guide Questions for your Position

Paper

1. Trace further the roots of the Mindanao conflict by researching

some more details/stories about how and why the Moros are
having an armed conflict against the Philippine government.
Write down what youve researched. Cite your sources.
2. Rizal wanted that all natives in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao
consider themselves as Filipinos. How can we make the
Moros realize this Rizalian teaching?
3. Do you think the BBL will finally end the armed conflict in
Mindanao? Defend your stand. Mention excerpts from our past
lessons.
(Your paper must be at least 5 pages long, hand-written, and submitted on or before the

last meeting of Week 8, which is Friday or Saturday)

Perfec
t
Score
is
30/30

Rubrics for Scoring the BBL Position

Paper

FAILED

FAIR

GOOD

VERY GOOD

No mention of an additional
fact/story (not mentioned in the
lecture powerpoint) about the
root of the armed struggle in
Mindanao
(0 point)

Mention of at least 1 additional

fact/story (not mentioned in the
lecture powerpoint) about the
root of the armed struggle in
Mindanao
(6 points)

Mention of at least 2 additional

fact/story (not mentioned in the
lecture powerpoint) about the
root of the armed struggle in
Mindanao, but not cited
properly. (7-8 points)

Mention of at least 2 additional

fact/story (not mentioned in the
lecture powerpoint) about the
root of the armed struggle in
Mindanao, with proper citation.
(9-10 points)

Output is below the fair level.

(0-5 points)

Tried to explain how we can

make the Moros realize that we
are all Filipinos. But the
explanation is not very clear.
The Rizal and the Birth of the
Filipino Nation lesson was not
linked well in the discussion. (6
points)

Explained well how we can

make the Moros realize that we
are all Filipinos. Cited at least 1
practical way. However, the
Rizal and the Birth of the
Filipino Nation lesson was not
linked well in the discussion.
(7-8 points)

Explained well how we can

make the Moros realize that we
are all Filipinos. Cited at least 2
practical ways. The Rizal and
the Birth of the Filipino Nation
lesson was linked well in the
discussion. (9-10 points)

Output is below the fair level.

(0-5 points)

Mentions clearly ones

agreement or disagreement
with the BBL. The explanation
on his/agreement or
disagreement is clear but not
convincing. Discussion does
not include excerpts from the
following past lessons:
Continuing Past, History of the
Filipino People, Birth of the
Filipino Nation, Pre-Colonial
Times.

Mentions clearly ones

agreement or disagreement
with the BBL. The explanation
on his/agreement or
disagreement is clear but not
convincing. Discussion included
an excerpt from any of the
following past lessons:
Continuing Past, History of the
Filipino People, Birth of the
Filipino Nation, Pre-Colonial
Times.

Mentions clearly ones

agreement or disagreement
with the BBL. The explanation
on his/agreement or
disagreement is clear and
convincing. Discussion included
excerpts from at least 2 of the
following past lessons:
Continuing Past, History of the
Filipino People, Birth of the
Filipino Nation, Pre-Colonial
Times. (9-10 points)