Reflections on the Bangsa Moro

In my last post, I blamed the flooding in Metro Manila and 25 nearby provinces to the rains brought by the storm Ondoy (Ketsana). But my rational mind simply could not put 2 and 2 together. 

The weather agency said that the storm brought in 410 mm of rainfall in nine hours — more than the average monthly rainfall during the wet season. Okay. But the floods practically everywhere started in the first hour or so. Ondoy was said to have made landfall at 10AM. By ten-thirty, there were floods everywhere in Metro Manila. As I wrote in my previous post, I could not believe my cousin’s text message to me that Congressional and Mindanao avenues were flooded. That was around 10:30 am. The amount of rain that fell for the past 24 hours was not enough to make those streets impassable by cars.

I heard on TV that the actress Christine Reyes went down to the the first floor of their house to get her nephew/niece (pamangkin). When she turned around, she was shocked to see the height of the water. I heard such stories before — during the deadly tsunami that struck Indonesia, Thailand, etc. a few years ago. 

A tsunami or a tidal wave can suddenly bring in gigantic amounts of water from seemingly out of nowhere. But rains? Hmmm, I thought something was not right.

OVERFLOWING RIVERS AND CREEKS

Flash floods in Metro Manila are usually caused by clogged drainage, primitive sewage system, uncollected garbage, etc. But this time, the cause of the flooding were overflowing rivers and creeks.

The Marikina river overflowed within an hour or so of Ondoy’s landfall. Pasig river must have overflowed, too. Creeks and other tributaries overflowed.

When I was told that the water in the creek near us rose over the bridge, I couldn’t believe it. The bridge was quite high. The amount of rainfall that fell up to that time was not enough to make the water rise that much. There must have been other sources of water.

STRONG CURRENT

News programs including CNN repeatedly showed a clip of people on top of a what looked like a rooftop filled with debris. This unusual raft with several people on them was speeding along Marikina river at a very fast pace. It was as fast as a speed boat. The local news show had to replay the clip in slow motion.

Can a heavy downpour increase the current of a river at least ten-fold?

A news clip also showed floods in Quezon City and elsewhere. What amazed me was the strong current of the street floods. The floodwaters could even move cars as if they were rubber boats. My friend asked me where the current came from. Offhand, I answered that it could be because of the slope of the street. The floodwaters were simply going downhill, I reasoned.

MUDDY WATERS

Why was there so much mud? Floods from rains do not carry mud. 

WATER FROM THE DAMS

There have been accusations of unannounced release of water from the Angat dam and the Angat dam operators vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

The more I think about it, it appears that the most logical reason for the massive flooding all over Metro Manila and nearby provinces was the unannounced release of huge quantities of water from the massive Angat dam, the Ipo dam and the La Mesa dam.

My hypothesis is this: because of the heavy rain in the past weeks before Ondoy, the dams were already reaching critical level. With the sudden huge downpour of tyrphoon Ondoy, the dam operators panicked and let go huge amounts of water.

The raging waters caused the overflow of rivers and creeks and flooded the towns and cities. The three dams, with the help of Ondoy’s rain could very well create the havoc that happened last weekend.

I suppose much water was also released by Pantabangan dam, which caused more flooding in Central Luzon.

ANTHROPOGENIC DISASTERS

Not only is Climate Change human-made, the effects of Climate Change are exacerbated by humans. A fairly weak storm carrying huge amounts of rain can kill hundreds of people and animals as well as destroy millions of pesos worth of properties because of careless human activities.

I hope the Ondoy experience has enlightened the country’s leaders that Climate Change adaptation or disaster risk management do not mean simple evacuation and rescue operations. They mean much much more. There should be a comprehenseive water resource mangement, water basin management, land use management, hazard mapping, etc.  

Most importantly, one should use Common Sense. Do not release water from dams when there is a storm around carrying lots of precipitation.

At around 10 am yesterday, my cousin texted me (short for sent me an SMS message) that they were already in Congressional Avenue but could not proceed because of floods. I could not believe it. I texted back that they should try the route via Mindanao Avenue. She replied that the jeepneys were turning back from Mindanao Avenue. I texted back that if it were true, then EDSA would be flooded. I suggested that they should wait it out in the nearest mall or restaurant.

I have lived here for nine years and we never experienced massive flooding in the area. I turned on the TV and was shocked at what I saw. Massive floods everywhere. People were stranded on their rooftops – right here in Quezon City.

My friend left Makati at 12 noon and reached Congressional Avenue 9 hours later.

A few days ago, I attended a conference on Climate Change in Antipolo City. It rained in the afternoon. Going to my car, I asked the man who was holding an umbrella for me if the area gets flooded easily. He said no. My driver said, “Sir, Antipolo ito!” (Sir, this is Antipolo!). Because of its elevation, Antipolo is supposedly safe from floods.

In fact, during lunch, we were saying that if the sea level rises significantly, Metro Manilans would just transfer to Antipolo.

Yesterday, while watching the news on TV, a caller was asking for help. She said there were many people stranded on the second floor of their homes in Antipolo City, near Ynares Center. And she said her relatives in Barangay San Roque needed help because flood waters were so high. The conference I attended was in a resort in Barangay San Roque.

CLIMATE CHANGE

According to a PAGASA official, the amount of rainfall caused by this typhoon is equivalent to one month’s amount of rainfall. In nine hours, Ondoy dropped 410 mm of rainfall, more than the amount recorded for the first 25 days of September, which were full of rainy days. The weatherman said that this was an effect of Climate Change.

The U.N. Convention on Climate Change defines Climate Change as “change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods”

According to study by the Asian Development Bank on the economics of Climate Change, the Philippines will have more rainy days and more amount of rainfall; the country’s rice yields will go down by as much as 75% by the year 2100; and, the country will experience more destructive typhoons due to Climate Change.

The ADB report further stated: “During the past 15 years, the country was hit by the strongest typhoon ever recorded, the most destructive typhoon, the deadliest storm, and the typhoon that registered the highest recorded 24-hour rainfall.”

Yesterday, a new record on the highest amount of rainfall has been established.

ANTHROPOGENIC CHANGE

Many people still don’t believe that Climate Change exists. Like George Bush and Sarah Palin, they believe that Climate Change is not caused by human activities. They cite some scientists who claim that Climate Change is a mere creation of some vested interests. The fact, however, is that the United Nations panel of experts, including the Nobel Prize awardee, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and all the academies of science of developed countries, have all argued with tons of scientific data, that Climate Change exists mainly because of Global Warming caused by human activities and man-made machines and factories.

US President Barack Obama puts it very clearly: “All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it’s here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster.”

Climate Change gives rise to the paradox of "man-made natural disaster".

Typhoon Ondoy has shown that even a weak typhoon (85 kilometers per hour or Signal No. 1) can create havoc to millions of people and the whole of Metro Manila and 25 nearby provinces in less than 10 hours. What if Ondoy packed a 200 kph windspeed?

The government and the Filipino people should put Climate Change issues on top of their agenda. Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to Climate Change.

The media, especially the Lopez-owned ABS-CBN, made sure that all Filipinos would read about, listen and/or watch the Cory Aquino wake and funeral rites. While watching the seemingly endless media coverage of the affair, I realized that there are only TWO groups in the Philippine political class today – the Marcos group and the Aquino group. All of them were “made” either by Marcos or Aquino or their cronies. Those who (or whose family) came before Marcos time re-entered the political class through either Marcos or Cory.

There were, of course, exceptions. They came from nowhere. Manny Villar came to the political scene by way of becoming a billionaire. Noli de Castro came via the TV/radio media.

AGENDA-SETTING

The unheard of news coverage (which is still on-going) of Cory’s death evidently points to an agenda by media.

The media trumpeted that Cory’s death supposedly “buried Cha-Cha (Charter Change)”. Later, they built up Cory’s son, Noynoy as the “anointed”, a veritable new Messiah.

The Lopezes, who own the ABS-CBN network, owed practically everything to Cory. Cory gave them back ABS-CBN – lock, stock and barrel and even more.

The leading newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, had a bad experience with Joseph Estrada, who is planning a comeback.

The second leading newspaper, the Philippine Star, has always been pro-Cory.

AQUINO GROUP UNITED

The power of the media is now proven with the unity of the Aquino group. The Aquino political class has closed ranks behind Benigno Aquino III or “Noynoy”, the lackluster son of Ninoy and Cory Aquino.

Mar Roxas, the Liberal Party standard bearer, was forced to take a back seat to the Anointed. Roxas’s fiancée, TV/radio broadcaster Korina Sanchez, must be fuming. Incidentally, Sanchez was supposedly romantically linked to Noynoy before Mar.

MARCOS GROUP SCATTERED

While the Aquino political class has united, the Marcos political class is still divided. The patriarchs of the group are former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada and his 1992 presidential running mate, Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Cory’s first cousin.

Erap still dreams of becoming president again. Danding has two surrogates – Chiz Escudero and his nephew, Gilbert Teodoro.

Teodoro is trying to get the nod of the ruling party, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

By definition (as mentioned above), GMA belongs to the Aquino group. But because of circumstances, she is now the Aquino group’s Public Enemy No. 1.

To unite the Marcos group, Chiz should unite with Erap. An Erap-Chiz tandem would be a match to the Noynoy-Mar team-up. Noynoy should team-up with Mar. It is the gentlemanly thing to do. But for pragmatic reasons, the group would probably get another guy. They should not get one from their group, like Makati kingpin Jejomar Binay. It would be better if they get somebody from the Marcos political class like Senator Richard Gordon. Or, they could get Supreme Court Chief Justice Puno, who is waging a “morality” campaign, whatever that means.

NOT LIKE THEIR FATHERS

I truly feel sorry for both Mar and Noynoy. They are not their fathers yet their families / clans expect them to follow their fathers’ footsteps. Mar is not Gerry and Noynoy is almost the opposite of Ninoy.

As a child and a young man, I had great respect and admiration for Gerry Roxas and Ninoy Aquino. Unfortunately, I think their sons did not get their fathers’ charismatic charms.

Villar and de Castro do not belong to either political class. The two can team up but they will lack the political clout or the so-called “command votes” enjoyed by members of the political class. Villar’s Nacionalista Party has very few members.

De Castro is still weighing his options. He could either join GMA’s or Villar’s party.

GMA AGENDA

Whatever GMA’s agenda is, her party should get a fairly popular president. Teodoro and Bayani Fernando come last in all surveys on presidential candidates. On the other hand, the Vice President is a very popular fellow. He can give the very popular Estrada a run for his money. Their constituencies belong to the lower classes – C,D and E. And that is where most of the Philippine populace belong.

A Noli de Castro – Gilbert Teodoro tandem would do well for Gloria’s party.

If everyone play their cards well, the 2010  presidential elections could be very interesting.

I was watching the TV coverage of the funeral mass for the former President Corazon C. Aquino. Shortly before the mass began, former anchor of Tagalog-language TV news programs and now Vice President of the Philippine Republic Noli de Castro arrived. He was quite in a hurry to go to his seat as if afraid that he would not get to sit in the front rows. When he arrived at the proper row, he was greeted by former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos. Ramos introduced him to East Timor President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta. De Castro did not seem to give much attention to Mr. Ramos-Horta. He seemed to be concerned only with finding his seat. And suddenly, he pushed aside — with his two hands — the East Timor President so he (de Castro) could sit next to ex-President Fidel Ramos.

I couldn’t believe my eyes! I asked my companion if she saw what De Castro did. Yes she did. So, I thought that maybe it was not Ramos-Horta. Maybe it was just his (Ramos-Horta’s) aide.

A few minutes later, Ramos-Horta was shown entering his limousine and leaving the Manila Cathedral. The news anchors did not know why Ramos-Horta was leaving. And when the cameras went back to show Fidel Ramos and De Castro, there was noone seated next to the Vice President.

Why would anybody go through all the trouble of attending a funeral in another country and leave just before the mass begins?

How I wish I had TIVO so I could just rewind and verify if it was indeed Ramos-Horta who was unceremoniously shoved aside by Noli de Castro.

PRESENCE / ABSENCE OF ARROYO

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo went to the wake of former President Aquino early morning today. Only one child of the former president was there to greet her. She sat near Senator Noynoy Aquino for some 10 minutes and left. She will not be attending the funeral.

I think Arroyo’s advisers got it all wrong. Arroyo should not have come for the wake because wakes are usually for friends and relatives, of which she was neither. She should have come for the funeral proper as it would be more politically-correct. It is only proper that a sitting president would attend the funeral of a former president, especially a former superior. Ms. Arroyo was appointed as Assistant Secretary and later Undersecretary at the DTI by then President Aquino. It was at the Department of Trade and Industry that Ms. Arroyo started making her fortune.

I was at the funeral of the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, President Aquino’s husband. I joined the very long caravan from Sto. Domingo Church to the Memorial Park. We left the church around 9 or 10 a.m. and reached the memorial park some 11 hours later. That was an experience.

But this time, I pass.

In my post The Bangsa Moro is an International Concern, a reader, DATUAN SOLAIMAN PANOLIMBA (datuan.panolimba@yahoo.com) wrote a rather long "comment". Because of its length, I am instead publishing it in this post.

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ARMED STRUGGLE OF THE BANGSAMORO MUSLIMS IN THE PHILIPPINES:

Written by: DATUAN SOLAIMAN PANOLIMBA-
North Cotabato, Philippines

Bismillaher Rahmaner Raheem. Asalamo Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuho.

The Bangsamoro Muslims of Mindanao and its islands have fought the longest and bloodiest struggle in the entire history of mankind in the world which extends to about four hundred eighty seven (487) years already up to this writing. First, the Bangsamoro people fought, without let up, against the Spanish colonial power for 377 years from 1521 to 1898. Second, they fought a bloody war against the American imperialist from 1898 up to 1946.And third, they are still fighting against the Philippine neo-colonial power from 1946 up to the present.

In fact the present JIHAD FIY SABILILLAH waged by the Bangsamoro people is a continuation of the struggle which had been fought by their ancestors and forebears demanding for freedom and independence. The 487-year war which has been fought by the Bangsamoro is replete with historical facts.

“But what is surprising is despite of the long period of war being fought for; the Bangsamoro people are still engaged in a war for freedom and independence. The struggle which has been fought by the Bangsamoro in four hundred eighty seven years (487) had extensively covered by the Muslim historians and authors in their books such as Dr. Cesar Adib Majul in his “Muslims in the Philippines, 1973, Manila, Philippines, ” Dr. Alunan C. Glang in “Muslim Secession or Integration, 1969, Quezon City, Philippines, ” and Salah Jubair in “Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny, 1997, Lahore, Pakistan.”

THE FIRST MORO WAR:

After securing the friendship with Rajah Humabon of Cebu, Ferdinand Magellan, who led the Spanish colonial adventure in the Far East, invaded the small kingdom of Mactan in 1521. The island was then ruled by Rajah Lapu-Lapu who did not want to be a friend of foreign colonizer.

It can be noted, therefore, that Visayas before was believed under the influence if not one of the principalities controlled by the Moro Sultanate of Sulu or Maguindanao at that early period of time. See Map of Moro Sultanate, principalities and areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao at the time of the arrival of Spaniards in 1521. (Source: London Library and Museum). Unfortunately, Magellan died in action on April 27, 1521 that drove the Spaniards back to the West and by such incident, they had narrated their fiasco under the hands of the native inhabitants.

Thus, Lapu_Lapu stood as the first native chieftain who fought against foreign attempt to colonize the Moro homeland.
The Spanish dream had yet started so that in 1522, with Captain Sebastian Del Cano at the head of the Spanish survivors, Spain became the first circumnavigator of the globe as declared.

SPAIN’S AGGRESSION:

Crown Prince Felipe, known as King Philip II of Spain, directed Captain Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the viceroy of Mexico, to go to the Philippine island and to make it a permanent Spanish colony. He landed at Cebu where he had established the first Spanish settlement in 1565. In 1569, he proceeded to Panay where a second Spanish settlement was created.

After quelling some minor resistances staged by the native inhabitants, he sent Captain Martin de Goiti to Luzon, particularly in Manila where a well-fortified Moro principality was located. It was ruled by Rajah Solaiman and assisted by Rajah Matanda. Tondo then was ruled by Rajah Lakandula. Records has showed that these Manila chieftains where of Bornean origin. In fact, their relationship with the Sultan of Borneo was categorized as very closed to each other.

Rajah Solaiman who led the fight for freedom and independence, declared to the foreign aggressors the following words: ” WE WISH TO BE THEN FRIENDS OF ALL NATIONS. BUT THEY MUST UNDERSTAND THAT WE CANNOT TOLERATE ANY ABUSE. ON THE CONTRARY, WE WILL REPAY WITH DEATH THE LEAST THING THAT TOUCHES OUR HONOR.”Unfortunately, on June 3, 1571, Rajah Solaiman perished at the historic Battle of Bangkusay, a place off the coast of Tondo, but he left with a patriotic landmark in his defense of freedom and independence of the country. The next to fall, despite of a fierce defense by the native inhabitants, was the Muslim principality of Mindoro in 1574.

Then came the short-lived Magat Salamat Uprising in 1587. Emerging victorious over the pockets of resistance were the Spanish conquistadors. So that within a span of 11years, they were able to overlord the territory of Luzon and Visayas. Legaspi, who was appointed as the first Governor-General, had made Manila as the seat of Spanish colony in Luzon and Visayas, which was collectively called as “Filipinas” or “Philippine Islands” eventually.

“Salah Jubair succinctly wrote “it is necessary to clarify, contrary to popular perception, two important points in history: Firstly, the first group of people whom the Spaniards in 1570 called “Moros” were those in Manila and environs and not the Islamized natives in Mindanao and Sulu and secondly, the first Moro-Spanish War was not fought in Mindanao and Sulu but right in what is Metropolitan Manila.

“THE MORO-SPANISH WAR:

The 377 year of Moro-Spanish War represents an uninterrupted bloody war which had been fought by the Moros against the Spaniard’s attempt to subjugate them as a people. At first, the Spaniards thought that Borneo was more of a threat to the Manila colony than the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu. So they invaded Borneo in 1578. However, after their Bornean expedition, the Spaniards had turned their eyes on the Moros in the South, particularly, Sulu which they were suspecting of having an alliance with the Borneans.

The Spanish colony towards the Moros was basically spelled out in the instructions of Governor-General Francisco de Sande to Captain Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa in May of 1578. Figueroa was officially commissioned to subdue the Moro Sultanate of Mindanao and Sulu.

It was clear then from the instructions given to him, Spain sought to achieve two things with respect to the Moros of Mindanao namely: 1. Get them to acknowledge Spanish sovereignty over their territory. 2. Promote trade with them, limiting their trade to the Philippine islands and exploring natural resources of Moro land with a view to their commercial exploitations. 3. Bring an end to Moro “piracy” against Spanish shipping, and an end to Moro raids on the Christianized settlements of the Visayas and Southern Luzon. 4. Hispanize and Christianize the Moros, along the same lines followed with respect to other lowland Filipino (Indio) groups.

According to Dr Peter G. Gowing, the last line Spanish policy was the reason if not the root of the Moro’s fierce resistance to the Spaniards and their Christianized Filipino allies. Capt. Figueroa was instructed to order the Moro chief not to admit any more “preachers of the doctrine of Mahomet since it is evil and false, and that of the Christianity alone is good.” Ad-dressing himself to the “Lord of Mindanao, ” the instruction includes: “You shall tell him that our object is that he be converted to Christianity and that he must allow us freely to preach the law of the Christians, and the natives must be allowed to go and hear the preaching and to be converted, without receiving any harm from the chiefs.

“Furthermore, Figueroa was instructed to ascertain who the preachers of Islam were so that they can be arrested and brought them before the Governor-general. He was also commanded to destroy any Masjeed he founded “where that accursed doctrine has been preached and you shall order that it be not be rebuilt. “As he was instructed to meet force with force and to punish the Moros as he deemed best “taking special care not to trust them…..,” the Moros responded to such designs with violence and warfare. In 1596, during the initial Spanish campaign in Buhayan (Buayan) in the heart of Mindanao, Figueroa met his disastrous defeat.

The erstwhile Spanish conquistador suffered death at the hands of the Moro warriors led by Datu Ubal (Mangubal in Moro tradition). The initial Spanish campaign in Mindanao had ignited and caused the series of bloody encounters between the Moros and the Spaniards, in which,it was carried up to the coming of the Americans in 1899.

MORO WARS:

In retaliation to the Spanish cruelty, the Moros had carried out the war to the Spanish settlements in Luzon and Visayas. In 1599 led by Datu Sirongan and Datu Salikula of Mindanao, the Moros raided the northern islands and return home with rich war booty including several captives. The Moro actions had created fear and anxiety among the Spanish and Filipino settlements in Luzon and Visayas.

In succeeding years, the Moro buccaneers harassed Spanish shipping, and so were dubbed “pirates”. But to the Moros they believed they were fighting a war in defense of freedom and independence. Thus, Sultan Kudarat I, after his ascension to power to the Sultanate of Mindanao in 1619, declared a Jihad against Spain whom he had emboldened more than ever the Moros to fight for home, country and Islam. Their expeditions carried Jihad to the coasts of Visayas and Luzon.

From then on, the Moro war vessels periodically raided, killed and plunders Spanish settlements. Thus, it was dubbed really a bloody war. The Spaniards counter move was seen in their series of punitive expeditions against the Moros. The expeditions were made up of Spanish-led Christian Filipino forces. Which eventually, the Spaniards had succeeded to establish forts in Moro homeland, however, their colonies were only confined inside their fortified garrisons. They failed to subdue the Moros who were periodically attacking their forts.

From the 18th up to the 19th centuries of Spanish successive engagement in the “Moro Wars”, it was never followed by effective and permanent occupation of the Bangsamoro ancestral homeland. The American historian Dr. Najeeb Saleeby rightly observed that “the Moros fought for home and country, for freedom to pursue their religion and way of life, and for liberty to rove the seas whichever they would.” For over 300years, they had made a shamble of Spain’s Moro policy.

Even with the importation of Spanish war vessels in the middle of the 19th century did not stop the Moro raids of Spanish and Filipino settlements of Visayas and Luzon. Despite of being guerilla fighters, the Moro exacted a heavy toll of casualties, however, when entrenched in their ‘cota’ (fort) they simply could not be rooted out.

When situation demanded they would have readily killed their wounded and gave no quarter to the Spanish and Christian Filipino enemy. They fought ferociously, and their usual tactic was to wear down the attackers, obliging them eventually to withdraw. At the close of the 19th century, the Spanish colonial power in Luzon and Visayas was threatened by the Filipino Revolution of 1896 and the coming of the American colonial power in 1898.

Subsequently, the Treaty of Paris was concluded on December 10, 1898 between the United States of America and Spain wherein the latter had ceded to the Americans her former colony in Mexico, Honolulu and the Philippine Islands with the amount of $20 million. With this treaty, the Spaniards abandoned their colony in the north by virtue of the Treaty of Paris. So that the Moros of the south remained a free and independent people. Thus, they were not subjugated by their conquistadors.

AMERICAN AGGRESSION:

The Bangsamoro people of Mindanao were already enjoying freedom and independence when the Filipinos declared a revolution against Spain in 1896. When the Americans arrived in the Philippine islands in 1898, the Philippine Revolution was already in progress in Luzon and Visayas. The so called “Spanish-American war” was also nearing its end.

For instance, Commodore George Dewey, commanding the American naval flotilla, defeated the Spanish Pacific Squadron during “Battle of Manila Bay” on May 1, 1898. Subsequently, the United States of America assumed the authority in the Philippine Islands by virtue of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. But the Filipinos, who declared the independence of the First Philippine Republic on June 1, 1898, had to fight a new imperialist power.

Maverick as it was, the Americans sought the forging of the Bates-Kiram Agreement on August 20, 1899 with a view to neutralizing the Moros of the south while they were still engaging the forces of President Emilio Aguinaldo in the north.

After three years of Filipino-American war, the Americans were able to crush the Philippine revolution and declared a general amnesty in 1902. The Americans, after having a unilateral abrogation of the Bates-Kiram Agreement, had now turn their eyes to the Moros of Mindanao.

In May 1899, the first US Army contingent landed in Jolo, Sulu. The US troops had also occupied Zamboanga on November 16 and followed the Cotabato areas in December. This began the American occupation of Mindanao which ended in May 1920 when the Department of Mindanao and Sulu was abolished as a government unit.

MORO-AMERICAN WAR:

For all practical reasons, the American occupation of the Moro land was a direct affront to the freedom and independence of the Moros. The lesson from the Spanish policy of subjugation was still fresh in the minds and hearts of the Moros. With the Americans, the Moros have had similar views, as a threat, and a change of colonial master which had the same intention with that of their predecessor, that is, to subjugate them as a people.

Thus trouble had erupted as early as May 1899. But this time, the next generation of Moros took the cudgel. Soon various confrontations flared up in Mindanao and Sulu. This led J. Ralston Hayden, an American writer, to note that “never during the entire continental expansion of the United States had armed encounters been as frequent and serious as that between the Moros and American troops.”

The Moros’ determination to defend their religion and country had prompted the American colonizers to comment that “THE ONLY GOOD MORO IS A DEAD MORO.” Record has showed that there were at least 20,000 Moros who were killed in action from 1899 to 1916. From 1904 to 1906 alone, the Moros suffered about 3,000 killed as against 70 Americans.

Large-scale engagements were recorded between the American troops and the Moro warriors in several parts of Mindanao and Sulu from 1902 to 1935. The most serious were those staged by Panglima Hassan, Datu Ali, Datu Ampuan
Agaus and Jikiri.

Shortly after the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth Government on November 15, 1935 with Manuel L. Quezon as the first President, the Moros had viewed it as the transfer of colonial government to a new master. It could be noted, therefore, that Mindanao and Sulu were forcefully annexed to the Commonwealth government. Again, the Moros rose in arms in defense of their freedom and independence.

The most serious armed rebellion that took place in Mindanao was happened in June 1936. It was spearheaded by Hadji Abdulhamid Bungabong of Unayan, Lanao del Sur and lasted for several years. The Moros fought gallantry and heroically in a series of wars called “COTA WARS”. The grievances were contained in a petition letter sent to the President of the United States of America. The issues presented were:

1. Moros had become second class citizens.

2. The Moro Province be segregated once independence is given to the Filipinos.

3. Acquisition of lands in the Moro Province be reserved for the Moros.

4. Islam must not be curtailed in any manner.

    

The uprising lasted until the dawning of the Japanese interregnums in 1941. The Moros were once again caught in the crossfire between two colonial masters. But now between the Americans and the Japanese which saw its peak from 1942 to 1945.

PARLIAMENTARY STRUGGLE:

In 1946 it saw the final annexation of the Moro land to the new Philippine Republic. Historians, in the likes of Salah Jubair, have succinctly observed that “The U.S. colonial government and the succeeding Filipino neo - colonial power have utterly failed to stamp out Moro resistance. But they have succeeded in rendering the Moro traditional power structure effete and almost obsolete.”

“The main casualties were the sultans and datus, whose authority had been squelched to the extent, that they had become mere symbols of the past and mute relics of history,” he pointed out. “The sultan-people direct dealing, ” he continued “has been almost severed and , to get rid of the evils of dual rule, meaning sultan and government ruling simultaneously, the Commonwealth government directed all state-installed officials in 1936 to take over the roles so far exercised by the sultans and datus.”

Elaborating that the disintegration of the traditional socio-political order and the ever-tightening imposition of the secular-materialistic concept of life bequeathed by the Americans, Salah Jubair said that it has created an extensively difficult situation for the Moros. Consequently, those who were won over to the American side, freely or under duress, were the ones who with their pens, slogans and orations adopted and pursued the parliamentary or unarmed way of struggle.

These crops of Moro intellectuals asked the United States government to separate the Moro Province, either as colony or as independent state. Singly or in chorus, they unanimously refused to join the Filipinos in their demand for independence. It was true that they did not succeed, neither did they achieve anything of consequence in terms of the real liberation of the Moros-that obviously, was already fore doomed from the start.

But there is no gain slaying the fact that they did their best in their own way. Yet, on the other hand, by following the unarmed way of struggle, they were deeply entangled into the Americans cobweb and continued to become subservient to the whims and caprices of the new colonial masters.

Failing to achieve their aspiration to be free and independent during the American colonial days, the Moro parliamentary struggle dragged to the post-war Philippine administrations. Couple with some isolated disturbances, armed clashes between Moro warriors and government troops were reported in various parts of Mindanao.

The off-and-on armed skirmishes continued to plague the countryside in open defiance of government authorities. Whatever it may said about the post-war pocket uprisings in Mindanao and Sulu, it could be attributed to the fact that the Moros have never abandoned their desire to be free and independent from the clutches of neo-colonialism in their sacred and ancestral homeland. Nurtured by socio-cultural discrimination, the most known of these uprisings were those led by Kamlon Hajji, Abdulmajid Panondiongan, Tawantawan and Hadjal Uh. It took billions of pesos from the national coffers in quelling these insurrections.

Such that amid cries of national neglect and apathy, Congressman Ombra Amilbangsa of Sulu Province had gone to extent of sponsoring a bill in Philippine Congress in 1961 which sought to declare the independence of the Province of Sulu from the Philippine Republic. The Moro solon was disgusted by the chronic ills and inequities prevalent in the Philippine society where the Moros were the direct victims. His bill did not merit the attention of his colleagues in Congress and his move was simply dismissed as a “drama” or “attention-calling.”

MORO STRUGGLE CONTINUED:

In 1968, the then Governor Datu Udtog Matalam of the empire Cotabato Province created the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) seeking the separation of Mindanao, Sulu, Basilan, Tawitawi and Palawan from the Republic of the Philippines and to establish an Islamic State in the sacred and ancestral homeland of the Bangsamoro people. But the dream and aspiration of the grand old man of Cotabato failed.

Finally in 1972, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and its military wings, the Bangsamoro Army led by Prof. Nur Misuari went public declaring armed struggle as its principal instrument in the formation of a Bangsamoro Republik encompassing Mindanao, Sulu, Basilan, Tawitawi and Palawan. It sought to liberate Moro people and homeland from Philippine colonialism.

The reverberating sounds of the firearms and mortars of the Bangsamoro Revolution
led by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) pressured the Philippine government under the then dictator President Ferdinand Marcos to entered into an agreement with the MNLF leadership in December 23, 1976. The agreement was known as “Tripoli Agreement of 1976.” It sought to establish an autonomous government for Muslims in South of the Philippines under its sovereignty and territorial integrity. But Pres. Marcos grossly violated the letter and spirit of the entire agreement.

When President Corazon (Cory) Aquino catapulted to the Philippine presidency in 1986 because of the Peoples Power Revolution against Pres. Marcos, she created the Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), but still failed to finally solved the Bangsamoro problem in Mindanao and its islands.

Until in 1992, when President Fidel V. Ramos became president of the Philippines after President Cory Aquino, his government negotiated with the MNLF leadership which resulted to the creation of Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) on September 2, 1996. But still the Bangsamoro dream of freedom and independence became more obscure. It was because of the fact that all agreements entered by and between the MNLF and GRP are only a showpiece of the Philippine government in order to smokescreen the oppression, colonization, exploitation and extermination of the Bangsamoro people. This regional set-up of government is nothing but an adjunct of the Filipino colonial government. It is being used by the Philippine government to further fortify the Filipino colonialism over the Bangsamoro people and their ancestral homeland.

So that when the MNLF leadership compromised the liberty and independence of the Bangsamoro people in December 1976, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), chaired by the late Ameril Mujahideen Ustadz Salamat Hashim went public assuming and leading the JIHAD FEY SABILILLAH of the Bangsamoro people for final liberation, freedom and independence, nsALLAH SUBHANAHO WA’TAALA.

Late Ustadz Salamat Hashim, then Ameril Mujahideen and Chairman, Central Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said and we quote, “Any solution less than full independence of the Bangsamoro people will not work. Past experiences since the be-
ginning of the annexation of the Bangsamoro homeland to the Philippines in 1935, have proven that the Bangsamoro Muslims could not live a normal life under a corrupt and secular government and that the two nations, the Bangsamoros and the Filipinos, could not get along with each other because of their distinct religions, customs and traditions. It will be for the best interests of the Bangsamoros and the Filipinos if both are free” and quote.

Wasalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuho.

Today, I attended the Recognition Rites for the Graduates of the University of the Philippines - Institute of Islamic Studies in Diliman. One of the six graduates of the M.A. in Islamic Studies program is my cousin Andabae Abbas-Abbas.

The Guest Speaker was medical doctor Abdurahman Ututalum Amin, a top MNLF leader and President of the ADD-Tribal Party List. He talked on "Peace and Development from a ‘Critical Perspective’". The following are excerpts from his speech:

On September 2, 1996, the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), with the active participation of the Organization of islamic Conference (OIC), was signed in Malacanang Palace.

The FPA was hailed as a landmark by practically the whole world, including the European Union and the United States of America. Most of all, it was welcomed by millions of suffering Bangsamoro as the long awaited solution to end decades of armed conflict. FPA was the only major peace agreement successfully brokered by the OIC. President Fidel Ramos and MNLF Chair Nur Misuari received the UNESCO Peace Prize (Felix Houphouet-Boigny) for the successful signing of FPA …

 The Agreement came after a quarter of a century of violent armed confrontation between the MNLF Mujaheedin and the Armed Forces of the Philippines with the collusion of the ILAGA, an Ilonggo para-military. Almost three million Moros were uprooted from their homes and livelihood; almost a million took refuge in Sabah, Malaysia; One hundred fifty thousand to two hundred thousand (150,000 - 200,000) died, mostly women, children and the elderly; 535 mosques demolished; 200 schools destroyed; 35 towns and barangays completely razed to the ground. The long and protracted conflict reduced the vibrant and dynamic Moro communities into abject poverty and lawlessness.

 A successful peace agreement in order to provide "peace dividends" has to implement its provisions to actually achieve peace and development to its intended beneficiary. This is the essence of any conflict resolution. But can we say solemnly the presence of tangible peace and development in the Bangsamoro homeland after the FPA in 1996? In one of the statements of Senator Santanina Rasul: "Muslims are still the poorest of the poor, the worst off in the country. Surely, that says something  about the progress (or lack of it) under the auspices of the 1996 FPA."

 The government; however, have chosen to focus on outputs, like for example thepassage of the ARMM Organic Law (RA 9054) and EO 371 but the MNLF asserts that RA 9054 has become the greatest stumbling block towards the correct implementation of the agreement. The MNLGF and the OIC have not participated in the crafting of RA 9054. It is contrary to the letter and spirit of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and 1996 FPA. Many of its provisions are in violation of the(se) two agreements…

 In the assesment of the success of the peace agreement, the MNLF and other stakeholders look at the outcomes, which is (are) Peace and Development. In the words of President Ramos: "Statistical data show what all of us know: that Muslim Mindanao continues to suffer from abject poverty and underdevelopment.

 It is very clear, there is no meaningful peace and development. There are no "peace dividends" as the result of the 1996 FPA. The former president admitted…that abject poverty and underdevelopment prevail in Muslim Mindanao  after almost 13 years of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.

 Peace Agreements do not always lead to peace…As a matter of fact, 7 out of 10 peace agreements end up failing. Eighty-three (83)peace agreements were signed by the warring parties from 1989-2004.

 There is an increasing need for politically negotiated settlements in order to attain peace and development…and avoid pitfalls to ensure success in implementation.

 It is sad to conclude that the 1996 FPA FAILED. Unless the government, the MNLF and the other stakeholders will seriously come together to salvage what’s left of it.

While many are still talking of the aborted Memo of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the GRP and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), it behooves us to look into the 1996 FPA, which is a much larger (in scope and powers) and more comprehensive agreement than the MOA-AD.

If the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1996 Final Peace Agreement are failures, why would anyone harbor any hopes for any future agreement between the GRP and the MILF?

Was the Abu Sayyaf hostage, Andreas Notter of Switzerland, released by the kidnappers or rescued by the Philippine military? The country’s 3 leading newspapers differ on the matter. The Philippine Daily Inquirer says he was released while the Philippine Star and Manila Bulletin say he was rescued.

Does it matter? Of course it matters. If the Swiss captive was rescued by a daring maneuver of the Philippine Army, then it means that the government is still a fully functioning government that can protect the lives of people in the country. If he was "released", then it merely confirms allegations that the Philippines is a failing, if not a failed state.

Wikipedia defines FAILED STATES as:  "a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government."

The primary characteristic of failed states is "loss of physical control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein". Another characteristic of a failed state is its "inability to provide reasonable public services."

The public services in the Philippines is anything BUT reasonable. But it is the first characteristic that this essay is concerned with. If the hostage, Mr. Notter, was merely released, then, basing on previous experiences with the Abu Sayyaf, one can only conclude that the release of the hostage was the quo for some quid. The quid, of course, comes not in pounds but in pesos or dollars.

DARING RESCUE BY POLICE AND CIVILIANS

The Philippine Star reported a chase and rescue operation:

 SWISS HOSTAGE RESCUED

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – One of two foreign Red Cross workers held captive by Abu Sayyaf in Sulu was rescued by combined security forces early yesterday.

Swiss national Andreas Notter was rescued unharmed after police forces and civilian volunteers gave chase to a group of Abu Sayyaf gunmen trying to spirit him out of the security cordon near Indanan town, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno told a news conference yesterday.

For three months, the Philippine military could not rescue the hostages (one was voluntarily released in April), yet now, it only needed the local town police and CIVILIAN volunteers to rescue one hostage.

INQUIRER VERSION

The Philippines Daily Inquirer, the least controlled newspaper in the land, has this report:

EX HOSTAGE TO RETURN TO SWITZERLAND TUESDAY

MANILA, Philippines — Swiss Andreas Notter, who was released by Abu Sayyaf bandits last Saturday, is set to return to his home country on Tuesday, after a brief stop in Manila, an official of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) said.

The Inquirer has a longer report on the matter (Click here). And it is more revealing. In this report Swiss hostage walks free: But Abus still hold ailing ICRC worker, the report had this to say about the hostage himself:

Notter himself told reporters yesterday in Jolo, Sulu that he was “still a little bit confused how it happened” because “everything happened very quickly.”

…Notter, 37, recalled walking with his captors but not how authorities got hold of him.

“I walked out, and I’m happy to be alive and safe,” he said.

As Notter himself said, he simply "walked out." Yet, according to the same report, Notter "had difficulty walking even with a cane". In fact, he could not even recall how he was rescued!

The report went on to say:

 "Chief Superintendent Felizardo Serapio, chief of integrated police operations for Western Mindanao, said Notter was rescued yesterday morning “near an established cordon” in the town of Indanan by militiamen – the Civilian Emergency Force – and the Indanan police."

“Actually, I don’t have a clear picture yet; everything is still garbled,” Serapio admitted.

The police general himself (note that police generals in Muslim Mindanao are Christians) admitted that he didn’t have a clear picture. And, according to him, civilian militiamen and the local town police (presumably all Moros) were the ones who did the "rescue". 

Even the military general did not know what happened. According to the Inquirer:

Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, also said Notter was found in Indanan.

“I’m not sure what barangay (village). Whether he was recovered, released or rescued, that I cannot say,” Allaga said.

A military spokesman said that Mr. Notter was "recovered" by the local police and civilian militia. The local security units then "recognized" Mr. Notter so they brought him to the governor’s house.

Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo, spokesman of the Task Force ICRC, said it was around 5:30 a.m. yesterday when Notter was recovered by members of the Siasi police and the Civilian Emergency Force in the vicinity of Barangays Katian and Mangilop in Indanan, a few minutes away from Jolo.

He said the civilian volunteers, who recognized Notter, immediately brought him to Governor Tan’s house.

THE GOVERNOR’S COMIC TALE

The governor had an interesting story. According to the report:

Tan said that earlier, Notter’s captors learned of the presence of soldiers around 500 meters away from where they were. He said that since the soldiers were in a vantage position, the Abu Sayyaf decided to evade them.

But the Abu Sayyaf stumbled on a group of police and militiamen, and fled in another direction, Tan said.

During the rush, Tan said, Notter was able to run in the direction of the police and the militiamen.

The Abu Sayyaf had withstood the Philippine military’s firepower for years. With the millions of dollars the group had accumulated through their years of kidnappings and banditry, one can presume that they have enough firepower to sustain their clandestine operations. Yet, according to Gov. Tan, these hardcore bandits were so scared upon seeing the military that they immediately ran towards another direction and when they "stumbled" upon a group of local police and militia, they immediately ran away and in their haste (and probably stupidity and cowardice), they even forgot to bring their hostage with them.

And again, Gov. Tan and the military wants us to believe that Mr. Notter, who was held captive for around three months, with barely anything to eat, and who could hardly walk with a cane (according to a witness), was able to run away from the bandits and into the loving arms of the police and militia.

THE REAL VERSION?

The Inquirer interviewed a member of that brave group of CIVILIAN militia. If anything, his version sounds like the real thing:

But according to a leader of the civilian volunteers who said he was one of those who collected Notter, the Swiss national was released by the Abu Sayyaf in Barangay Lipunos in Parang town close to midnight on Friday.

The volunteers initially thought the man they had was Vagni, said the source, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter.

“It was near midnight. We were mobilized toward Parang. We thought there was an operation. When we got there, a group of armed men met us and turned over a foreigner to us. We did not know who the armed men were,” the source said on the phone.

He said the foreigner carried a bag that contained his belongings.

“We were helping him because he had difficulty walking even with a cane. We thought he was Vagni,” the source said.

It was only yesterday morning that he realized that the foreigner was Notter, the source said

Asked whether Notter was rescued, as Serapio had claimed, the source said the foreigner was released and that no tension occurred between his group and that of the armed men.

 

CONCLUSION

From the Inquirer report, it seems obvious that Mr. Notter was not rescued at all. He was simply released by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). And since like any kidnap-for-ransom gangs, especially the very successful ones, the ASG does not release hostages for nothing. For so many years now, despite the government’s declared no-ransom policy, ransom payments to the group have been documented, alleged, sworn to, etc.

Despite the massive budget of the military, the militarization (military occupation) of Muslim Mindanao, all the government propaganda about its success in the "War on Terror", the various military operations — codenamed this and codenamed that — the Abu Sayyaf still does its kidnappings and even acts of beheading with impunity. 

The case of the Abu Sayyaf Group proves that there is "loss of physical control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein" in the country.

But the ASG is not the only one using force with impunity. The local vigilantes in Davao, the killers of the hundreds or thousands of desaparecidos all over the country. And of course, the more "legitimate" ones; namely, there’s the New People’s Army, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Add to that the failure of the government to provide REASONABLE BASIC PUBLIC SERVICES, then perhaps one can conclude that the Philippines is indeed a failing, if not FAILED, STATE.

RECOMMENDATION

The government and the public should stop pretending that the Philippines is a fully functioning republic. We all know that we do not have a rule of law but a rule of men. The justice system is skewed in favor of the rich and politically powerful. There is no jury system. Judges and justices can be bought and there are many documented cases and scandals on that. Just hiring lawyers already requires a huge cash flow.

The election process is anything but democratic. Even the proposed automated systems have been shown to be easily manipulated. 

In the past decades, the world’s economy was booming — growing by leaps and bounds. Yet the Philippine government was jumping up and down in glee when the country’s GDP went up a little beyond 7% about two years ago - its highest since the 1970s during Martial Law. With that GDP, other Asian countries like India and China, would cry and panic — not jump for joy.

The government and the people should realize that before the country becomes a totally failed state like Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon, East Timor, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, we must do something about it. We even send Filipinos to work in failed states (according to the Fund for Peace’s Failed States Index) like Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon and Syria could very well ask us, "Who’s the failed state?".

PEACE FIRST

Without peace, there can never be a fully functioning Philippines. The ‘no war-no peace’ situation is not an option. If there is real peace in Mindanao and elsewhere, half the budget of the military could be spent elsewhere — in education, housing, building infrastructure, etc.

With peace, investments, both local and foreign, can come in — in droves. With peace, tourism can flourish. With peace comes goodwill. And the prospect for progress and development would be very bright.

With peace, the government and the people can concentrate on other very important matters like the election process, education, the justice system, employment, etc.

And perhaps with peace, we can bring back the MERIT SYSTEM in our schools, offices, businesses, politics, government, both houses of Congress, etc.  It is only with the Merit System that we can get rid of the drug lords, jueteng lords, entertainment stars, wheeler-dealers, scam artists and their ilk ruling our government, our Congress (including the Senate), our judiciary, our schools, our companies, etc. 

The Fund For Peace rated 35 countries as Failed States. The Philippines comes in the next 25 with a Failed State Index of 83.4. This means that the Philippines is a FAILING STATE. 

We must not wait to be listed in the top 35.