BANGSAMORO SECESSIONIST MOVEMENT

- Reaction Paper –

I
The positive aftermath of nation building in Mindanao was immediately disrupted by the
handing over of North Borneo to the Federation of Malaysia by the Sulu Sultan. This led to the
diplomatic protest of President Diosdado Macapagal, which did not succeed as the United
Nations Mission sided with the Malaysian Federation in taking over the said territory. President
Ferdinand Marcos then opted to take a radical approach and planned to forcibly take North
Borneo from the Malaysian Federation. Yet, it fails to do so.
The Jabidah Massacre led to the organization of the MIM, whose manifesto was to
declare self-determination, among others. MIM waned away and was replaced by the MNLF and
its splinter group, MILF. These groups would further aggravate disputes against the Philippine
government, causing more harm and damage to the civilians, livelihoods, the economy, etc. in
Mindanao and Sulu.
II
While I was reflecting on all these events from the past, I couldn’t help but feel sad, not
only for the innocent lives that were affected but for the entire people and lands involved. I know
that, as a nation, we should know how to follow and respect the laws set forth by our
government, but the fact that the Moros had to constantly fight for their rights to the point of
using violence is a sad reality. As a nation, we should stand as one, yet the constant
discrimination and denying of Moro rights might also be a factor that leads to the unending
discord between the Moros and Christians.
However, this is not only a case of government neglect. Christians and Moros had long
been at odds with one another. If we want to become a united and peaceful nation, we should
also do our part. Learning from the mistakes made in the past, which are often only caused by
disrespecting each other's beliefs, is something we need to understand what went wrong and
what we can do to change it. We are a country. We are all Filipinos. It is regretful that we are at
war with one another. 
III
The moment we decide to change our discriminatory thoughts and honestly start
respecting one another is the moment we can be at peace. Imagine if this was practiced by
everyone in our nation. We could achieve the peace we all longed for.