BANGSAMORO STRUGGLE IN MUSLIM MINDANAO

BY: VINCENT JUN A. GAYRAMON

GROUP 2
IN RETROSPECTION

The Bangsamoro has been existing as an

indigenous nation in the far-east having the
elements of a nation: people, sovereign
territory, resources and government prior to
the coming of the foreign colonizers and
before the establishment of the Philippine
republic in 1946.
 AS AN INDIGENOUS NATION

The Bangsamoro:
- Had been freely exercising and enjoying their inherent and
inalienable right to self-determination;

- Had been living with prosperity and dignity with the vast
natural resources of their ancestral homeland;
 DURING COLONIZATION

The Bangsamoro forefathers signed the Zamboanga

Declaration of 1924 and the Dansalan Declaration of 1935
to protest the inclusion of the Moro Ancestral Domain as
part of the territory ceded to the US through the Treaty of
Paris.

Pushed against the wall, the Bangsamoro was forced to

defend themselves and their ancestral homeland.
WHAT WORSENED THE MORO SITUATION
Influx of the settlers from Luzon and Visayas which triggered
mass dislocation of the Moro from their own land due to legally
sanctioned land-grabbing;

Political disfranchisement of the Moro politicians due to the so-

called majority votes over minority votes;

The Jabidah Massacre;

The organization of ILAGA; and

The imposition of Martial Law in 1972

 THE RISE OF BANGSAMORO
ARMED RESISTANCE

The Mindanao Independence

Movement (MIM) was formed to
rekindle the struggle for independence
and self-determination
 THE RISE OF BANGSAMORO
ARMED RESISTANCE

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) later on carried out the
struggle after MIM.
 THE 1996 FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT

Phase I Transitory Period (What happened)

The stipulated control, and/or regulatory powers of the SPCPD was

not provided.
SPCPD not deputized to participate in the conduct of the 1998.
general elections and the 2000 local elections and plebiscite,
violating the agreement that the SPCPD would be deputized by the
COMELEC in the conduct of any electoral activity in the SZOPAD.
Resources for SZOPAD during transitory period were under absolute
control of the appropriate NGAs and not the SPCPD.
RA 9054 (Amending RA 6734) was an arbitrary and unilateral act of
GRP and vehemently objected by the MNLF.
 THE 1996 FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT

Phase I Transitory Period (What happened)

The plebiscite was conducted without social preparation or

information campaign about RA 9054.
Clusters of municipalities in Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and
Sultan Kudarat that voted for inclusion in the ARMM were left out
MNLF integrees were not organized into separate units within the
transition period.
 THE 1996 FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT
Phase II Establishment of Genuine Autonomous
Government.

The Autonomous Framework consists of the following:

Executive Council, Legislative Assembly, Administrative System
and Right of Representation in the National Government
The Establishment of the Special Regional Security Forces for the
Autonomous Region (Phase II of the Implementation of the Tripoli
Agreement)
Educational System to develop total spiritual, intellectual, social,
cultural, scientific and physical aspects of Bangsamoro people
The Economic and Financial System, Control over Mines and
Minerals
Shariah
 THE ARMM

Although the territorial jurisdiction is limited, ARMM

was expected to bolster good governance to develop
and uplift the socio-economic condition of its people
 However

ARMM was not able to assert its mandate and prove its
worth

Rather, it was adjudged as an added burden to the

Bangsamoro as it became a stamp pad of Malacaang
and serving the interest of whoever is the president

It was also branded as the most corrupt and backward

region

despite the abundance of its natural resources, it had

failed to improve the quality of life of its constituencies.
 THE MILF

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) kept the

Bangsamoro struggle for independence and RSD alive
 THE MOA-AD BREAKTHROUGH

A group of lawyers and CSOs including the CBCS had

accredited themselves as interveners to assist the
government in defending the MOA-AD

the SC ruled the MOA-AD unconstitutional

The civil society and the government peace panel

filed a motion for reconsideration only to be junked
by the Supreme Court in the end.
 WHAT IS MOA-AD?

It is a product of GRP and MILFs years-old peace

negotiation

It is a result of the 4 years planning, data gathering,

and analysis, exploratory talks and negotiations,
public consultations, advocacy with stakeholders,
study and review by the negotiating panels, and a
legal review by a committee of law experts tapped by
the president to review the document and assist the
GRP panel.
 A valid document that can stand before any
international laws on international court of justice

It is supposed to serve as key to restore a just and

lasting peace in Mindanao

It also offers a mechanism to attain a just and lasting

peaceful co-existence among the people in
Mindanao.
 WHATS IN IT?

CONCEPT & PRINCIPLE

Explicitly defines the Bangsamoro peoples identity
and acknowledging their roots as a self-governing
society in pre-colonial period.
 THE SAD STORY

The MOA-AD is a victim of greedy politicians whose

primary ambitions are either to cling on power or to
crave for power including other sectors who have
interests in the Bangsamoro homeland

It was also held hostage by foreign power and foreign

giant corporations with vested interests on the vast
natural resources of the Bangsamoro homeland.
 WHOS AT THE LOSING END?

Hundreds of thousands of
civilians are again brought
back to the dehumanizing
condition in various
evacuation centers where
they always are in times of
war

The number of civilians who

are either killed or wounded
continues to rise, not to
mention the damaged
properties and crops /
livelihood
Despite all these, the government insists that
there is no humanitarian crisis and that the
military offensive is just a surgical operation
aimed at pulling out the 3 base commanders
of the MILF.

War armaments like OB10 fighter planes,

mortars and tanks are used in the operations.

However, the violation of the civilians rights

is only treated as a consequence in pursuing
so-called criminal elements.
The unbroken chain of the Moro
struggle to restore their freedom
and independence is an indubitable
fact.

Their history is a record of this

unwavering heroism of which every
chapter is written with the blood of
our martyred forefathers our
mujahidin brethrens who continue
to write with their blood the closing
chapters of the Moro continuing
struggle for freedom.
The Bangsamoro is not begging anything from the government.

The real issue is NOT what the government can give to the Bangsamoro
but it is WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD RETURN TO THE
BANGSAMORO.