Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Sta. Mesa, Manila
A.Y. 2020-2021
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
GEED10033
Midterm Examination Paper
Submitted by:
Sect. Code: 1BSMAGEED10033
Submitted to:
Date: January 09, 2020
After reading the materials, answer the following questions:
1. Describe how the American colonialists together with the succeeding regimes
dispossessed the Moros of their ancestral domains?
After the Spaniard’s colonization, the Americans took control of the
Philippines. The Moros who was victorious against the Spaniards fell short on the
Americans when they were vanquished through the combination of brute force
and swayed leaders and rulers. Political conquests were the result of the Moro
leaders intimate and highly personal relationship with the Americans. They failed
to secure a meaningful reform to implement that will benefit the greater good
which resulted in the heightened rebellion to those who were from the masses
though their numbers were dwindling as time went by. According to the
agreement the Spaniards had with the Americans, Sulu and Mindanao were to
be referred as foreign territories which were not to be dealt with. Troops were
sent there to create ruthless practices for those that were against them through
torture, burning villages, and massacres that does not know its limits. During
these episodes of theirs, Muslim sultans and datus, the elites, were seduced by
incentives that succeeded later.
Aside from their brute force, they also targeted possession of the land
originally owned by the Moros through the reforms and acts. To name a few,
Land Registration Act (Act No. 496) required the registration of all lands occupied
by any person, group, or corporation which resulted in most of the Moros to lose
their lands. Furthermore, the land that were lost from this were declared to be
public land and used for homesteading, sale, or lease to individuals or
corporations even by Americans under Public Act No. 926 and Mining Law of
1905. Sultans and datus were not safe from these land grabbing act because
Public Land Act No. 718 states that the land grants they have attained were to be
null and void. A clear display of injustice is from the Public Land Act 2874
wherein a Filipino could own up to twenty-four hectare lots in comparison to the
ten hectares granted to the Moros. Big corporations and wealthy families today
are celebrating their success from these lands that were unrightfully taken away
either through legal or illegal land grabbing while the heavily marginalized Moro
from the past are the same people who are today.
For an effort to be autonomous, propositions in forms of agreements were
set out by the Moros. These were passed but not put into practice and ultimately
failed to give the demands of the Moro. They were designed only to appease the
Muslim elites who have been divided between those who were elected with the
Manila government of landlords and compradors and blinded by the power the
position has amassed since the Second World War. In addition, scholars from
the Moro people were sent to universities in Manila and Middle East countries to
have them as allies later that made their future enemies less.
2. Trace the historical basis of the rebellious culture of the Moros leading to the
formulation of the Bangsamoro concept or the Moro homeland and nation.
From the beginnings of the Philippines, local inhabitants were already
conducting trade with foreign people such as the Malay and the Arabs. Those
that resided in Mindanao and Sulu were heavily influenced by the religion of
Islam and when the Spanish colonialists reached these locations, resistance and
defense were displayed by the residents. This is where the name Moros came
into light for the people who are Philippine Muslims. The Spaniards were
reminded of their battles with the Moors. The efforts of the Spaniards to
Christianize the Islam communities and settlements were never victorious for
they only brought more consciousness and identity of the Muslims. For the
coming years, this would be their motivation and drive to fight through great
lengths. They fought victoriously until the Americans replaced the Spaniards as
oppressors.
Through brute force and bait through incentives of the leaders, the Moros
gradually dwindled and fell through the ploy of the Americans. Reforms that
should be for the autonomy of the government of Sulu and Mindanao were only
to appease them while their lands were being taken away through legal and
illegal land grabbing. The struggle from this crisis gave birth to the Movement for
Independent Mindanao (MIM), later became the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF), that aimed independency from the Manila government through
secession. The autonomous nation that the Moros are setting up covered 13
ethno-linguistic Muslim groups as well as waging war against those who betrayed
their goal by corroborating with the state.
3. Can peace be attained in Mindanao and Sulu?
The war that traced back to the colonial period and was witnessed by
generations from back then and at present is not something that can be stopped
within a short period of time. The division within the Muslims as well as the
general Filipinos are further set apart as coming to terms drags on. Sustainable
peace and development can only be given with the repossession of the ancestral
lands of the Moros as well as redefining the state that displays good governance,
the rule of law, improved civil-military relations, accountability of public officials
for corruptions, and human rights protection. To reconcile with the past for the
betterment of the present in order to enjoy the future is the also a way for peace
to be attained along with the others stated.
4. Put forth possible proposals on how to resolve the conflict in the south.
To resolve the conflict in today’s time, a new law should be passed. The
Bangsamoro Law (BOL) of 2015 serves as the framework for the rolling out of
partial political autonomy to several provinces in Mindanao by 2022. The
Bangsamoro Law aims for a government that is catered for them. The sections of
the eight general principles and policies explain their demands which can solve
this lengthy battle. The first section is about self-governance wherein they can
exercise the rights to pursue political, economic, social, and cultural
development. For them to be a minority, they are indifferent to the government
and would want autonomy that may be more understanding for them when that
happens, both governments can work together to meet with their intentions in
legal terms instead of restricting one another. The second states the democratic
political system even though the government itself is a parliament. This is related
to the third section that talks about the electoral system that states the
agreement to allow democratic participation, hold them accountable, and form
principled political parties. Civilian government is detailed under the fourth
section wherein the civilian authority reigns over the military. This means that the
government’s outmost responsibility is toward its people. The next sections are
about what the government promotes. These are the unity, their rights, social
justice, and international treaties and agreements. The Bangsamoro Law is only
a framework that gives them time to improve their terms and revise it to see what
works and what does not.
Ultimately, their war that started centuries ago were fueled by their will for
self-determination and repossession of their ancestral lands. Previously, before
the battle for their cause had stretched, a Marxist view interpreted the conflict
and stated six ways for their self-determination. Combining territories, culture,
languages, and outlook by the Islam is the start for it will give them a unified
identity that strengthens their cause to fight. However, the integration,
assimilation, and transformation of multiple ethnic identities into a single national
identity will be counter nationalism. The reason for that is practices of certain
groups may vanish as other groups may deemed more worthy by whoever is in
control. The states that existed in Sulu, Maguindanao, and Bauyan sultanates is
second. Their feat of being undefeated at the face of Spaniards which defines
them more as fearsome; however, their succumb to the Americans through
genocide and criminal acts were the start of their downfall. The dispossession
their land and resistance towards the aggression of the Americans were also the
things they all have in common. Through traumatic experiences and likewise
struggles, the Moros better understand one another more than the state could try
to dissect. Thus, a harmonious manner of government by the Moros are more fit
for the Moros if the state decides to give them autonomy. By the decision of the
state to abstain it, the state requires to have a redefinition of their institutional
framework that only favors the majority that creates a wider margin and cause
further divide.
