Group 5

Pardillo, Wenniel
Compas, Caroline Ivone
Fernandez, Annalie
Belmes, Jean

Moros in Minsupala

I. Objectives

At the end of the module, the students should be able to answer the
following questions:
1.) Where is Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (Minsupala)?
2.) Why is Palawan included in the setting of History 3?
3.) Who are the peoples of Minsupala at present and how can we categorize
them?
4.) How many are the peoples of Minsupala as of the 2012 census?
1.)Where are Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan?

Geographically, the name “Mindanao” is understood (or is it misunderstood?) by

people, mostly by Filipino speakers and writers, to mean two things, which often
results in some kind of prepositional confusion. First, it refers to the second largest
island in the archipelago, in which concept of the word people are said to live and
events takes place (with the correct preposition) “on Mindanao,” that is, on that island.
Second, to people’s minds, the term stands also for the group of islands that
comprises of mainland Mindanao and the adjacent islands in the southern part of
the country, in which case, people talk about events taking place “in Mindanao,”
the region. Most times, Filipino speakers and writers use the preposition “in” even
when they mean “on” the island (as they would erroneously say, “in Luzon”); the
prepositional tangle continues as part of living history.
With a land area of 94,630 km2 (about 10,000 km2 smaller than Luzon), the mainland
of Mindanao provides a large amount of agricultural, industrial, commercial and
tourism potentials. Together with the island chains of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-
Tawi, the Mindanao islands group provides 25% of rice; 67% of cattle and tuna; more
than 50% of corn, fish and chicken; 100% of pineapple, rubber and banana
exports; 90% of plywood and lumber; 63% (1 billion metric tons) of nickel reserves;
48% (50.3 million metric tons) of gold reserves; 38.5% (2.6 million hectares) of
forest and 38% (3.73 million hectares) of farmlands for the entire Philippine
economy. Yet of the 20 poorest provinces in the Philippines (MBN index), 13 are in
the Mindanao region, including all the ARMM provinces. 1

The Mindanao islands group, with the southern portion of Palawan, is home
to the tri-people – at least 18 ethno linguistic groups of Lumads; 13 groups of Moro
(i.e., Bangsamoro) and at least nine migrant ethnic groups of “Christians” from
Luzon and Visayas. The islands group is divided into six regions, which are further
subdivided into 25 provinces. Collectively, the islands group of Mindanao is
bounded on the north by Bohol Sea, on the east by the Philippine Sea, on the west
by the Sulu Sea and on the south by the Celebes Sea. Mindanao itself, the island, is
mountainous, and is home to Mount Apo, the highest peak of the country.

1In several studies conducted, researchers found out that there seems to be a positive
relationship between incidence of poverty and the presence of insurgency. Poor and disgruntled
individuals appeared to be the easy recruits of secessionist or revolutionary groups. This helps explain
why Mindanao and Sulu has been home to one of the world’s armed struggles.
 Islands Group of Mindanao
The islands group
Philippines, which ofencompasses
Mindanao issixan administrative
arbitrary grouping of islands
regions. Theseinregions
the southern
areIsland
further
itself. subdivided
Theofislands into 26
groupislandsprovinces,
includes of which only four
the SuluJolo,Archipelago are not on
to theplus Mindanao
southwest, which
consists
islands the major of Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, the outlying
The six inregions
other areas
are thesuchfollowing:
as Camiguin, Dinagat, Siargao, Samal and Sarangani.
Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX), formerly Western Mindanao, is located in the
landform of the same name. It consists of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte,
Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, and the two cities of Zamboanga
and Isabela, which are independent of any province. Isabela City is the only territory
not on Mindanao Island itself and is located on the island of Basilan. The
region’s new administrative capital is Pagadian City and the whole region used
to be a single province named Zamboanga.
Northern Mindanao (Region X) consists of the provinces of Bukidnon, Camiguin,
Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental, plus the cities of Cagayan
de Oro and Iligan. The province of Camiguin is also an island just off the northern
coast. The administrative center and capital of the region is Cagayan de Oro City.
Davao Region (Region IX), formerly Southern Mindanao, is located in the south-
eastern portion of Mindanao Island. The region is divided into the provinces of
Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Compostela Valley, plus Davao
City. The region encloses the Davao Gulf to the south and includes the island of Samal
in the gulf and the Sarangani Islands further to the south. Davao City is the region’s
administrative center.
SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII), formerly Central Mindanao, is located in the south-
central portion of the island. It consists of the provinces of South Cotabato (which
used to be part of Region XI), North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani plus
Cotabato City. The names of the provinces together with General Santos City
spell the acronymous name of the region. Cotabato City, geographically located in,
but not part of Maguindanao province, is the region’s former administrative center.
Koronadal City, in South Cotabato, is the new administrative center of the newly
formed region.
Caraga (Region XIII) is located in the north western part of Mindanao. Its provinces
are Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur.
The administrative center is Butuan City in Agusan del Norte. The region also
covers the outlying islands of Surigao del Norte such as Dinagat, Siargao and
Bucas Grande Islands.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is a special region, which
covers the territories predominantly populated by Muslims. It consists of almost
the
 12

whole of the Sulu Archipelago (Isabela City of Basilan is not part, as it is under
the Zamboanga Peninsula region) and two provinces in the mainland, namely:
Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao. The provinces located in the Sulu Archipelago are
Basilan, Tawi- Tawi and Sulu. The first two provinces (i.e., Basilan and Tawi-Tawi) are
themselves the main islands of their respective provinces, while the main island of
Sulu is Jolo Island. Ironically, Cotabato City, which is not part of the ARMM, is the
region’s administrative center.
While Palawan is not on Mindanao, it may be necessary to introduce the island
province at this point to answer the question posed above. Administratively, Palawan
is an island province that is attached to Region 4 (Southern Tagalog, with the
acronym MIMAROPA). It stretches from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the
southwest and lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is
named after its largest island, Palawan Island, measuring 450 kilometres (280
miles) long and 50 kilometres (31 miles) wide.
2.) Why is Palawan included in the study of History 3?
Perhaps, one wonders why Palawan is included in the setting of History 3. As
pointed out already, Palawan is administratively attached to Luzon, being part of the
southern Tagalog region (Region IV) while, geographically, it is part of the Visayas
group of islands. However, at the time of the great sultanates, some parts of Palawan,
especially the southern portion, were under the jurisdiction of the Sultan of Sulu, thus
making the island historically attached to the Sulu Sultanate. Also, the presence of
Islamized tribes in Palawan culturally links the island to Mindanao.
3. Who are the peoples of Minsupala at present and how may they be
categorized?
Broadly, the peoples of Minsupala may be categorized as: 1.) the Migrants and
their descendants, and 2.) the Indigenous Groups.
The Migrants and Their Descendants
The “migrant populations” of Mindanao refers to the people who were
not originally inhabitants of the island. Mostly, they were natives of Luzon or Visayas
who came to Mindanao and stayed beginning from the early 20 century. Their
th
migration began as a response to American invitation for permanent settlers on
Mindanao (either through the government-sponsored resettlement program or
through private efforts). As commonly used among Mindanaoans, the word
“migrant” or “settler” was often confused with the term “Christian.”
 Of the migrant peoples, the following have significant populations on
Mindanao: the Cebuano from Cebu, the Ilonggo from Panay and Negros, the Bol-anon
from Bohol, the Waray from Samar and Leyte, the Siquijodnon from Siquijor, the
Tagalog from Central Luzon, the Bicolano from Bicol, the Kapampangan from
Pampanga and the Ilocano from Ilocos. The Chinese and other non-Filipinos may
well be included in the migrant category of “other settlers” from Luzon and Visayas.
The Indigenous Groups
The indigenous groups refer to the people who inhabited Mindanao
“before history.” According to B.R. Rodil, this group can be further categorized
into three, namely: 1.) “Indigenous Christians”, 2.) Moros and 3.) Lumads.
1.) The “Indigenous Christians”
It may be stressed that when the Spaniards arrived on Mindanao in the
second decade of the 17 century, they already noted a significant number of Visayan
th
-speaking peoples in the northern and eastern parts of the island. These people
would eventually become the Christian communities in the Spanish controlled2
territories of Mindanao whose population was noted to be 191,493 in 1892.
Further on the “indigenous Christians” of Mindanao, B.R. Rodil says:
It is no longer easy to identify them because they have assimilated
into the migrant Visayan population which now compose the majority
of the place. They are known locally by their place names like
Davaweño in the Davao provinces … mostly in Davao Oriental;
Butuanon in Butuan, Camiguinon or Kinamigin in Camiguin Island,
Cagayanon in Cagayan de Oro… Iliganon in Iligan… Dapitanon in
Dapitan, Dipolognon in Dipolog, Chavacano in Zamboanga…
Surigaonon, Waya-waya and Jaon-jaon are spoken in the towns of
Surigao del Sur… 3
It would seem, therefore, that the “indigenous Christians,” so-called, were
original Mindanao IPs who became Christianized; more exactly, perhaps, they
were Christianized IPs. In their case, therefore, being “Christian” did not necessarily
mean being a “migrant.” To further illustrate this point, try to consider one oral
tradition in Lanao which states that the Iliganons were originally Maranaos who
befriended the Spaniards. Later, these friendly Maranaos were converted to
Christianity and eventually aided the Spanish colonizers against the hostile Maranaos
of the Lake region. In the course of time, the Iliganons would learn the language of
the Visayan soldiers brought by the Spaniards so that they (i.e., the Iliganons) were
soon speaking the Visayan language among themselves. This observation of an oral
source is worth noting:
2 BR Rodil. A Story of Mindanao and Sulu in Question and Answer (Davao: MINCODE, 2003) p.2
3 Ibid.
 Kung tan-awon nimo ang batasan sa typical nga Iliganon,
actually Maranao na siya og batasan. Kanang dili magpapildi, kanang
taas nga garbo or maratabat, ug pagtinabangay sa panahon sa away,
Maranao na siya nga batasan. (Free translation: If you observe the
attitude of a typical Iliganon, you would notice that his attitude is that of
a Maranao. The way he makes sure he is not defeated, his very high4
pride, and mutual aid during fights, is simply typical among Maranaos).
Add to the above observation the fact that some Iliganon families or clans
trace their genealogies to prominent Maranao families in some places in the lake
region.
2.) The Moros
The second group of indigenous peoples in the Mindanao islands group is
the Moro. As commonly understood at present, the term Moro refers the thirteen
Islamized tribes of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. A summary of the Moro tribes
with their corresponding places of cultural dominance is presented below.
Name of Tribe Traditional Homeland
Panimusan5 Mainland Southern Palawan
Molbog Balabac Island (East of southern Palawan)
JamaMapun Cagayan de Sulu (South of Palawan)
Sama’a Tawi-tawi cluster of islands
Tausug Jolo cluster of islands
Yakan Basilan
Badjao / Sama Dilaut Entire Sulu archipelago
6
Kalibugan7 Zamboanga peninsula
Iranun 8 Illana bay area
M’ranao Lanao provinces
Maguindanaon Cotabato provinces
Sangir Sarangani and Samal island
Kalagan Davao provinces
The definition of the term “Moro” is actually a product of evolution.
Etymologically, the word was derived from the Spanish term Mauru/s (“Moor” in
4Sanguila, M., president of the Civil Society Organizations in
Iligan City and Lanao del Norte. Mr.
Sanguila is a native Maranao who hails from Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.
5 B.R. Rodil used to call them Palawani, but a member of the tribe from Palawan recently told said author
that they did not call themselves Palawani but Panimusan. (B.R. Rodil, at the 2nd Teachers’ Training
on the Teaching of Mindanao History).
6 Although they are the “least Islamized” among the Moro tribes, the Badjaos were placed under
the Moro category because they used to be subjects of the Sultan of Sulu.
7The Kalibugan are believed to be descendants of the Subanen natives who were
converted to Islam. 8They are also popularly known as “people of the lake.”
English), which referred to the Muslims of North Africa who colonized southern
Spain for more than seven hundred years. If the Filipinos complain about the 333
years of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, the Spaniards must have been
furious against the Muslims who colonized their country for almost eight centuries.
We can understand therefore the bias and hatred the Spaniards had against the
Muslims. Being colonized for more than 700 years was not among their more pleasant
experiences. Nevertheless, if the Spaniards begrudged and resented the Moorish
colonization of southern Spain, it is important to stress that the Muslims of
Mindanao and Sulu had nothing to do with it. It would be quite unfair if one let the
Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu “pay” for the “mistakes” of their North
African religious counterparts.
Anyhow, the Spaniards appeared to have made the Muslims of Mindanao
and Sulu “pay” for some Spanish hurt incurred elsewhere in the globe, while
the Christianized natives of Luzon, Visayas and northern Mindanao were made to
enforce the collection of this “payment” by conscripting them to fight Spain’s war of
aggression against the Muslim Sultanates of Mindanao and Sulu.9 Unaware that the
Christianized natives were only forced into the military expeditions, the Muslims
started hating the Christianized natives, too. The latter would eventually bear the
brunt of the former’s retaliatory raids. As a consequence, the Christianized
natives started associating negative connotations with the term “Moro.” Thus, the
term became equated with pirate, kidnapper, enslaver, thief, traitor, et cetera. Its
negative connotation was so profound that it did not begin to get turned around
in meaning and accepted even among Muslims until around the emergence of the
Moro National Liberation Front, which, in effect, “cleansed” the term of its
unpleasant meanings. In the words of the MNLF:
Originally, the use of the term Moro by the colonialists was meant to
perpetuate an image of the Muslim people of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu
and Palawan, as savage and treacherous, while they were simply daring
and tenacious in the defense of their homeland and faith. But
despite its colonial origins the Moro National Liberation Front has
cleansed the term of its unpleasant connotation by propagating the
more correct view that the tenacity with which the natives conducted
their war10 of resistance against foreign intrusion was a classic exercise in
heroism.
Further, the MNLF even went to the extent of redefining the term to include non
- Muslims like the Christians and Lumads who share common aspiration and
political destiny with the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu.

9This is what many historians term as the “Divide and Rule” tactic, in which natives were made to
fight one another.
10 Abdurasad Asani. “Moros – Not Filipinos,” pp.1-2
 4.) How many are the peoples of MinSuPala as of 2012 and other censuses?
Table below shows the population of the various ethno linguistic groups as of 2012
and other censuses conducted by the National Statistics Office.
Moro Tribe Population Lumad Tribe Population Migrant Groups
Population
Tausug 1,155,000 Manobo 436,060 Tagalog
Samaa 381, 300 Subanen 356,400 Ilonggo
Badjao 116,000 B'laan 280,600 Ilocano
Yakan 168,000 T'boli 122,000 Cebuano
Kolibugan 26,700 Mandaya 53,850 Boholano
Maguindanao 1,220,000 Tiruray 61,800 Kapampangan
Iranun 176,000 Higaonon 41,800 Bicolano
Maranao 1,167,000 Bagobo 145,000 Waray
Kalagan 33,300 Tagakaolo 125,000 Siquijodnon
Sangil 8,560 Bukidnon 186,900 other
migrants

11Rodil. op. cit, p.4.

Molbog 10,600 Dibabawon 21,300
Jama Mapun 50,800 Manggu-
wangan
Panimusan / 13,000 Mansaka 74,100
Palawani
Mamanwa 1,922 (1990)
Talaandig 5,190
Ata Manobo 33,400
Banwaon 8,200 (1992)
Matigsalug 37,100
Source: Population as of 2012 taken from the Joshua Project: Orientation
and Subsistence (Peralta’s Glimpses)

Lessons Learned and Peace Message

At a very superficial level, Filipinos are proud to claim that the Philippines is a
multicultural country. Before foreign visitors, they point out the linguistic, religious
and cultural diversity of their people. But at times, they can be very ambivalent about
their differences. Perhaps this ambivalence comes from their colonial experience, in
which tribal and regional differences were exploited to condition them to be
suspicious, unwelcoming or even hostile to the other groups. As proof, one hears
now and then tales of bias, stereotypes and discrimination; stories of exclusive
subdivisions, in which certain ethnic or religious groups are not welcome; violent
conflicts involving individuals belonging to different tribes, etc. Thus, the diversity
can be viewed sometimes as a problem, a weakness and a hindrance to Filipinos
having a strong sense of community. In not a few instances, they may be said to be
unsure if they should be happy or sad about each other’s uniqueness.
Paradoxically though, they also say, “There can be harmony in diversity.” They can
boast that Filipino culture is made more colorful by the peculiarities of their
languages, religions, festivities, traditional clothing, cuisine, customs and traditions. But
should they limit their appreciation only to those matters? Are they not supposed
to look at the commonalities that they share?
While it is true that Filipinos are different from one another, they nonetheless
have many commonalities that are, indeed, strong bases for unity and harmony.
For instance, many of their ethnic groups belong to the same racial stock; their
languages originated from the same mother Malayo-Polynesian language; they
share common vocabularies, material culture and even values. With special regard to
Mindanao, they even share the same homeland, as Mindanao has become a shared
territory, whether its peoples like it or not.
It is not bad for Filipinos to look at their differences inasmuch as their identities
are shaped and defined by their peculiarities. Yet, they should not forget that apart
from their differences, they also have these commonalities, which in fact may be
weightier— or a stronger bond—than their dissimilarities.
References and Recommended Readings.
Abdulrasad, Asani D. Moros – Not Filipinos. Diliman Review, March – April 1981: 27-33.
Joshua Project:http://joshuaproject.net/data-sources.php
Jubair, Salah. Bangsamoro: A NationUnderEndlessTyranny. Malaysia: IQ Marin SPN
BHD, 1999
National Commission for Culture and Arts: www.ncca.gov.ph.
Official website of Bukidnon:www.bukidnon.gov.ph
Peralta, Jesus. Glimpses: Peoplesofthe Philippines. Manila: National Commission
for Culture & Arts, 1992
Rodil, Rudy B. A Story of Mindanao and Sulu in Question and Answer. Davao:
MINCODE, 2003
------- The Minoritization of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanao and the
Sulu Archipelago. Davao City: AFRIM. 1994.