Republic of the Philippines

RAMON MAGSAYSAY TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Iba ,Campus
Graduate School

REPORTER: Martha Jelle A. Deliquina

COURSE:MAED SOCIAL STUDIES
SUBJECT:SS 308 The Philippines in SouthEastAsia
PROFESSOR:Marie Fe D.De Guzman.Ed.D.
TOPIC:Ethnic Muslim Conflict By Priscilla A. Tacujan

Why Current Efforts at Conflict-Resolution Fail

Separatist Movements: MNLF and MILF

• Introduced in the Philippines by Arab traders and Islamic missionaries in 1310, Islam
rapidly spread throughout the archipelago.

• However, the arrival of the Spaniards in 1565 checked and rolled back its further
advance. The Spanish colonizers never succeeded in sub-jugating the Muslim natives,
although they succeeded in creating a notion of “otherness,” since majority of the
Muslims refused to be converted to Christianity.

• The Moro National Liberation Front, organized in 1972 by Professor Nur Misuari,
became by far the most important separatist organization in the 1970s and -80s. Its
purpose was to promote a cultural-historical identity that would appeal to the concept of
Philippine Muslim nationalism and would emphasize traditional Muslim political
institutions, particularly the sultanates.

• The Moro Islamic Liberation Front Reformist Movement split from the MNLF in 1977.
Its leaders officially changed the title of their organiz-ation to the “Moro Islamic
Liberation Front” to “underscore Islam as the rallying point of the Bangsamoro struggle.”
In January 1987, the MILF adopted a more radical position when it refused the
government’s offer of autonomy.

Philippine Government’s Solution: Autonomy and Cultural Separatism

• Grant the Muslim insurgents exclusive right to their lands based on the principles of self-
determination and cultural separatism.

• The 1987 Philippine Constitution itself lends legitimacy to claims of separateness by

cultural groups. Article II, Section 22 recognizes the importance of preserving cultural
groups: “the state recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities
within the frame-work of national unity and development.” The Constitution further
includes a provision on the creation of autonomous regional governments for
geographical areas sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage
(Article X, Sections 15-21).

• include provisions on revenue-generation and wealth-sharing of natural, mineral, and

other resources, 75% of which goes to Bangsamoro and 25% to the Philippine
government. It is estimated that Mindanao has mineral deposits worth $312 billion.[iv]
According to the Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

• Cultural Separatism and Group Rights Sharpen Ethnic Conflict

• It seems to believe, as most proponents of culturalism do, that ethnic groups, by virtue of
their cultural identity, may justly claim particular and often exclusive entitlements, and,
that govern-ments owe them such entitlements.

• For one, culturalism is inherently parochial, hence, divisive. Culture -- which is good in
itself as all human beings belong to a culture and are shaped by it -- tends to promote the
ethnic and the particular at the expense of the universal.
 • Two, culturalism confers rights upon people as groups and not as individuals. Promoting
group rights cannot serve the interest of the individual as he is not free to exercise his
rights apart from his group. Moreover, only the Muslim leadership elites in Mindanao
benefit from these entitlements, amassing wealth at the expense of their constituents, as
the region continues to remain one of the poorest in the Philippines.

• Three, culturalism impedes the exercise of civil and religious liberties

Culturalism makes the pursuit of religion even more contentious as it usually advocates
the religion of the dominant culture at the expense of the religion of the minority. It
prevents the free exercise of worship, creating enmity instead of friendships among
members of a political community. In other areas, it breeds radicalism and religious
fanaticism.

Recommendations

For the attainment of genuine peace and resolution of the Muslim problem in Mindanao,
the Philippine government, the Muslim leadership, the insurgent groups, and other stakeholders
must act on the following:

Disarmament. In order to lay down the proper framework for genuine peace in Mindanao,
insurgent groups must disarm. Disarmament is a precondition for effective and resolute peace
negotiations.

Strong local governments. Ideally, federalism, which enables regional governments to acquire
significant control of local affairs from the central government, can provide a better arrangement
than regional autonomy that is being negotiated between the Philippine government and Muslim
insurgent groups. Federalism is akin to regional autonomy, but as an autonomy generalized to all
provinces and which makes people equal citizens of the nation and of the province. Unlike
federalism, regional autonomy has an unintended consequence of marginalizing autonomous
groups. Inasmuch as the Philippine government is not a federal form of government, it must
strengthen instead its regional and local governments in a way that they become direct ties of
representation and power between the citizens and the central government.[vii]

Diversified market-economy. A diversified market-economy is a source of prosperity, an

opportunity for people to define their own lives, and an opportunity to advance the community’s
economic well-being. Insurgent activities continue to pose a threat to Mindanao’s security and
provide disincentives to potential investments and trade activities in the region. What Mindanao
needs is an infusion of private investments and more job opportunities for the people. The
region should be exempted from the present area limits to commercial farming that have severely
curtailed the establishment of productive plantations. This should enable the region to attract
multinational corporations from neighboring countries to do business there.

Civic education and community relations. In order to address issues of discrimination and
other forms of social grievance, local governments and community associations must come up
with programs that may help improve community relations such as interfaith dialogues,
volunteering programs, and a better appreciation of local traditions and heritage through civic
education and public discourse.

If current conflict-resolution efforts are to succeed in Mindanao, peace negotiators on both sides
must focus on what it takes to achieve a secure, prosperous region and what makes for an active
citizenry of equally free individuals, assertive of their rights, and confident in their ability to map
out the future of their lives, beyond the clutch of group dependency and cultural affinity.