NAME: MIRAFLOR S.

PAÑAMOGAN
SUBJECT: PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
REPORT #1
TITLE: MIGRANTS OF MINDANAO: PERILS, DEBACLES AND RECOVERY
By FAINA C. ABAYA-ULINDANG,Ph.D
______________________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Faina Abaya Ulindang she is an independent academic, Mindanao

historian. A part-time professional lecturer in two private schools (a university and a
college) teaching graduate and undergraduate history subjects. Her major interest is
social history in the Philippines and China and earned Ph.D. History and MA Asian
Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Apart from contributing to journals, national and local, she authored a book,
RESETTLING THE HUKS IN THE LAND OF PROMISE. THE STORY OF EDCOR
MINDANAO 1950-1970, published by the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines, 2017.

This paper explores into the lives of second generation Mindanaoan settlers,
particularly those whose parents were supported by government resettlement projects
during the Commonwealth and Magsaysay Administrations in the Cotabato provinces
and Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur. Sporadic interviews also from the migrants themselves
as well as written-both primary and secondary sources are the main bases of this study.
It covers three periods in Mindanao history to highlight the transformation of this hitherto
hinterland into a vibrant region today. This study would focus geographically on the two
Lanao provinces and Southern Cotabato and historically during the periods, which the
author labelled as Debacle and Recovery, or in concrete terms during the post-war up
to contemporary times.
SUMMARY

Government-sponsored settlements in Mindanao began in 1913 when Mindanao

was finally governed by a civilian administration through the Department of Mindanao
and Sulu. In an effort to: 1)improve agricultural productivity; 2) alleviate the social
tensions arising from tenancy problems in Luzon, and more importantly, 3) to transform
the newly-pacified Mindanaoan natives into so-called ‘ideal-citizens’ with
migrant Filipinos serving as their models.
Ideal citizen” was understood to mean owner-cultivator who would be an asset of
the nation towards agricultural self-sufficiency as well as an agent towards national
unity.
Quezon, the Commonwealth President convinced of the efficacy of resettling landless
farmers, soldier-trainees, and unemployed from congested areas in Luzon and Visayas,
inaugurated his Social Justice program which, among others, provided for land
distribution to disgruntled farmers and laborers. It was during his time when Mindanao
was popularized as the proverbial `Land of Promise’. Consequently, more migrants
came to Mindanao during this period. Some came even without government support
and were known as `homeseekers’ to distinguish them from the `settlers’ supported by
the government.

PERIOD OF PERIL

A period of exodus of the Luzonian and Visayan Migrants into Mindanao. “Peril”
as this would necessarily be the period of pioneering-with all its hardships and
sacrifices-physically as this would challenge the migrants’ physical health and well-
being; economically because they came with barely nothing, hence desperately in need
for a source of livelihood and socially because they had to learn to adjust with their
neighbours-fellow settlers as well as the natives of the area. At that time Americans
needed labor power to make Mindanao productive. Cotabato was placed in the
economic radar and recommended the exploitation of its rich natural resources,
particularly its agricultural potential. Cotabato then was the largest province in the
country yet was severely unpopulated.

The passage of Philippine Commission Act no. 2254 creating agricultural

colonies in the fertile valleys of Cotabato.This provided for the setting up of agricultural
colonies in Mindanao under Governor Carpenter of the Department of Mindanao and
Sulu in 1913 and supported the migration of Filipinos from Luzon and Visayas onto
Cotabato. Free transportation, sustenance for one year, available loans for tools, inputs
for soil productivity and others as well as government assistance for processing of
homesteads after five years of occupancy were provided. During this period, migrants of
Luzon and Visayas onto Mindanao resulted to a growth of population from 670,000 in
1903 to 1,061,159 in 1918. However, Wood administration was not so enthusiastic with
the agricultural colonization project of his predecessor and withdrew his support to the
project. Worcester was even more biased against the Filipinos as shown in his policy
directives while he was the Director of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes. The latter
believed that the moros and the `infieles’ would better be under the stewardship of the
Americans. Quezon, the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth, faced the
challenge of integrating the entire country into one nation, in preparation for full
independence in 1946, went ahead with his integrationist policy following Governor
Harrison who initiated the agricultural colonization project in 1913.

The Koronadal Valley project was immediately started by General Paulino

Santos, who was then relieved as Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army on December
31,1938. He was appointed the NLSA (National Land Settlement Administration)
administrator by Quezon. On February 23,1939 a contingent of 100 settlers from Luzon
were accompanied by General Santos. Apparently, life in the settlement was difficult.
Clearing the virgin forests meant having to deal with wild pigs, deer, monkeys and
birds. It was then the native of the place who taught them methods of trapping wild
animals. For example, the T’bolis would invite them during their wedding celebration as
well as their wake for their dead. As for the B’laans and the Muslims it seemed that they
could also get along well. What pushed these settlers to Mindanao was apparently the
popular notion of Mindanao as the land of promise, where there are still greener
pastures to be exploited and developed. They told of increasing poverty in their area
brought about by depleting fertility of the soil. The encouragement brought by
Commonwealth Act No. 141 which made public lands available for homesteading in
Mindanao where they could acquire as many as twenty-four hectares attracted these
settlers.

PERIOD OF DEBACLE

While there was a hiatus of resettlement projects between 1954-1972, the

program was vigorously pursued during the Marcos Martial Law Period to contain
dissentions(as it was during the Commonwealth and Magsaysay Era). Post –Martial
Law period would expose the migrants to the challenges of the peace dealings between
the government and the secessionist rebels-the MNLF and the MILF. This would then
be the Period of Debacle or a period of helplessness in the face of peace and order
problems in Mindanao brought about by Marcos’ long term Martial Rule.

Ferdinand Marcos’ rationale for the declaration of Martial Law in September 21,
1972 was, among others, the secessionist movement i.e. Moro National Liberation
Front(MNLF) in Mindanao. This armed group was able to draw international support,
particularly from the Organization of Islamic Countries(OIC), from which both material
and moral support were generously given. Marcos, eventually acceded to negotiate with
them. Thus, the signing of the Tripoli Agreement on December 23,1976.

Meantime, intensifying clashes were known between the partisan armed groups.
In the Lanao area, the clashes between the Barracudas, the alleged private army of the
Dimaporos and the Ilagas, a vigilante group formed by a some Ilonggo settlers in
Cotabato became much more intense during the Martial Law, along with the rebels
Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF),and New People’s Army (NPA) versus the
Philippine Army. What used to be the government Moro policy under Ferdinand Marcos
was ostensibly, continued by Cory Aquino and her successor Fidel Ramos. The latter
sought to negotiate a truce with the MILF and peace reigned temporarily in Mindanao.
However, all these came to naught with the advent of Erap Estrada administration.
Ironically, the most intense fear experienced by the migrants particularly those in
Lanao del Norte was during the post-Martial period-the administration of Estrada when
he declared an all-out-war on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. On March 18, 2000
President Joseph Estrada declared “Crush the MILF at all cost”. This was clearly a land
related conflict involving the migrants and native. Estrada’s`all-out-war’ resulted to
massive damage and displacement of more than 900,000 persons.” But the most brutal
of this attack was when it was made on the civilians without any provocation at all - in
the infamous Kauswagan and Kolambugan tragedies when 391,266 individuals or about
80,000 families were displaced in 2008.

PERIOD OF RECOVERY

The Period of Recovery would be the contemporary period when settler-migrants

already settled and relatively prosperous and would project a better life for themselves
as Mindanaoans, although such settled, prosperous life would still be precarious. Like
the Muslims and the Lumads, settler-migrants would not be insulated from the peace
and order problem, and worse, would be victims of collateral damage these conflicts
would engender. In the instance where we saw the migrants exposed to hostile
situations created inadvertently by their presence as landowners, their response was
reflexive rather than well-thought out. The realities that the migrants had to face was
stupendous. Hard-working they maybe, and pioneering has considerably allowed them
the ownership of lands never before they dreamed of owning; yet, living with chronic
hostilities between the army forces and the rebels was something they have yet to live
with.

Magdalena in his study on the effect of increasing population on Mindanao’s

ecosystem found out that- while migration may have helped in Mindanao’s economic
development yet this was at the expense of the environment, among which are forest
degradation and environmental pollution; not to mention the displacement of the
Lumads and the Moros. True enough, the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro were
devastated by the Sendong tragedy last December 17,2011 when thousands perished
due to flashfloods inundating these heavily populated Christian dominated cities of
Mindanao.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This paper is very informative as well as comprehensive. The thing that I

appreciated this paper is with regards to the sequence of thought. Because first it gives
us the background or the situation why we have this settlement in Mindanao. Though
being challenged yet it was revived again during Quezon’s administration. Another thing
is each period (Peril, Debacle, Recovery) was clearly defined. Furthermore, having
included the Sporadic interviews also from the migrants themselves as well as written-
both primary and secondary sources are the main bases of this study.

CONCLUSION

Pioneering and remaining permanently settled to be able to enjoy the fruits of

your labor for your remaining years was the core of any settlers dream. This was what
most of the migrants from Luzon and Visayas had in mind when they resettled in
Mindanao-the land of promise. This study traced their sojourn through the turn of the
20th century up to the present.
Furthermore, the diminishing resources afforded by the corporate plantation
economy had spelled doom to ecological balance. Thus, the over-all impact of heavy
migration into Mindanao while may have answered the need to address the
developmental concerns of the nation economically, socially and politically, the trade off
was an island with chronic armed clashes and ecological disasters. Of the latter, the
largest victims would therefore be the Mindanaoan Christian migrants who have been
the dominant population for several decades.