Moro Rebellion in the Philippines
US Policy Led to Dispute Between Muslims, Philippine Government
Aug 6, 2008
No End to Bangsamoro Rebellion
The search for an end to the long-running separatist rebellion by the Islamic Moro people of the Philippines’ southern region of Mindanao suffered another setback earlier this week when the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order halting the planned signing of a land accord between the two sides. Some fear this latest obstacle to the peace process will spark fresh violence in a conflict which has already cost 120,000 lives and displaced millions in decades of fighting in the region known as the Bangsamoro. It might never have happened if it were not for the policy of the United States in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War over a century ago.
US Initially Recognized Sulu Independence
America’s defeat of Spain in 1898 saw the former Spanish colony of the Philippines handed over to the United States. Spain initially balked at including the island of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, claiming that it did not have sovereignty over these areas populated by the Muslim Moros. There was some evidence to support the Spanish position: Spain had signed treaties giving the Sultanate of Sulu a measure of autonomy in 1851 and 1878, and the U.S. itself had signed a commercial treaty with Sulu even earlier, in 1842. (Orosa, 1923, and Gomez, 2000)
Mindanao and Sulu were eventually included in the deal with the U.S. A separate treaty – the Bates Treaty – was signed between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu in August 1899, eight months after the formal end of the Spanish-American War. The Bates Treaty essentially made Sulu a U.S. protectorate, with both sides mutually recognizing each others’ sovereignty, and acknowledging that the Sultanate was not part of the Philippines.
Moros Lost Land Due to US Colonial Policy
Almost immediately, the U.S. moved to quickly absorb the rich lands and resources of Sulu and Mindanao into the rest of the Philippines. In 1903, the area was formed as the “Moro Province” of the Philippines under military governor General Leonard Wood. This sparked simmering resentment of the American presence into a full-blown revolt known as the Tausug Rebellion. (Orosa, 1923) In March 1904, the U.S. revoked the Bates Treaty, and while it would take until 1913 to quell the uprising and officially do away with the legal status of a separate Muslim state in the Philippines, it was really from that point that the Moros lost their country.
To further weaken the resistance, the American government of the area instituted a series of measures intended to move more peaceful, Christian northern Philippines settlers into the Muslim areas. Moro common land holdings were declared void in 1903, designated public lands, and opened to settlement. In 1913 and 1919, laws gave Christian settlers and companies greater entitlements, while limiting the number of hectares Moros could own. (Orosa, 1923) U.S. companies benefitted as well, with B.F. Goodrich, Del Monte, Goodyear, Weyerhauser, and others all acquiring large tracts of land in Mindanao over the next few decades. (Gomez, 2000)
The U.S. granted full independence to the Philippines in 1946, but left behind a problem that unfortunately seems no closer to being solved now than it did a century ago. What happens next for the Republic of the Philippines and the Muslim Moros who still fight for their own country, only time will tell.
References:
Gomez, Hilario Jr. (2000) The Moro Rebellion and the Search for Peace: A Study on Christian-Muslim Relations in the Philippines. Zamboanga City, Philippines: Silsilah Publications.
Orosa, Sixto. (1923) The Sulu Archipelago and its People. London: Harrap.
