more on peace and development

1. Peace and Development in
Mindanao

3. The Island of Mindanao and the Sulu
Archipelago
•Mindanao, an island located in the south of the
Republic of the Philippines, has long been home to
members of the Islamic faith. The resistance by the
Bangsamoro people that began with the Spanish
invasion of the 16th Century has continued into the
present as their liberation movement sought
independence from first the United States and later
the Republic of the Philippines itself.

4. The History of Mindanao
•Islam first arrived in Mindanao in
the 13th Century. Mindanao
remains a crossroads for a diverse
array of ethnic and religious groups,
including the descendants of
Japanese immigrants.

5. • Islam is believed to have first arrived in Mindanao in the 13th
Century. According to local legend, Muslims from what is
now Malaysia visited the island and attempted to convert a
pair of brothers who were leaders of their communities.
While the older brother was deeply moved by the teachings
of Islam and decided to convert, the younger did not. To
avoid any strife with his brother, the younger man decided to
move to the mountains. The Muslim residents of Mindanao
are said to be the descendants of the older brother while the
indigenous groups on the mountains like the Manobo and
Teduray are said to be the descendants of the younger.

6. •Early 20th Century, about ninety percent of the
population of Mindanao was Muslim. But with the
“resettlement policy” adopted by the American
territorial government in 1912, large numbers of
Christians began to settle on the island.
•Areas in South Cotabato like Tupi, Koronadal, and
Surallah were chosen for settlement. After the
Philippines gained formal independence from the
United States following the Second World War, the
new government embarked on a full-fledged
resettlement program and moved Christians from
Luzon and the Visayas to areas across Mindanao.

7. • The government’s resettlement program was
accompanied by land grants, with each immigrant
receiving up to twenty-four hectares of land for free.
Companies and organizations that moved were granted
up to 1,024 hectares.
• The Muslims of Mindanao were legally loss of their
ancestral lands through these government policies,
decades later, there is incessant conflict over this land.
• The result of these policies enacted over the past
century is that roughly eighty percent of the twenty-five
million people now living on Mindanao are Christian.

8. Immigrants of Japanese Descent
• Davao, a city of more than a million people located in eastern Mindanao, first
became a destination for significant Japanese immigration in the early 1900s.
These Japanese immigrants had been hired to work on the construction of a
highway from Manila in central Luzon to Baguio, a city located in the island’s
northern mountains.
• Once the construction came to an end, they looked south to Mindanao and
began moving to Davao because of its widespread cultivation of abaca (the
raw material for Manila hemp). By the time of the Second World War more
than 20,000 Japanese lived in the city and there was a prosperous
Nihonmachi (Japan town) in the city’s Mintal district. Japanese immigrants
lived in areas across Mindanao like Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Marawi, and
Cotabato and largely worked in agriculture and commerce.

9. The People and Religions of Mindanao
•The ethnic and religious distribution of modern
Mindanao is complicated. There are large
numbers of Muslims in the central provinces of
Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao and on the
islands of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

10. • They spend their days faithfully following the five pillars of
Islam. Verses of the Koran play at great volume from mosque
loudspeakers, announcing the five daily prayer times. Goats
are slaughtered for celebrations and they hold feasts known
as “kanduli.” Everyone fasts from sunrise to sundown during
the holy month of Ramadan and avoids scheduling meetings
and appointments for the afternoon as it becomes difficult to
concentrate on work at that time. They try to get their
important work done early in the morning, instead. People
greet each other with “As-salamu alaykum” and receive
“Alaykum as-salamu” in reply.

11. •Many of the Christian settlers on Mindanao
apparently originated from the Visayan islands of
Panay, Cebu, and Negros, so while Tagalog is
used as a common tongue, Visayan is used
exclusively at home. Naturally, these Christians
drink alcohol and eat pork, with the Filipino
specialty of lechón (roast suckling pig) an
indispensable part of their celebrations.

12. • Broadly speaking, there are three ethnic groups on
Mindanao: Christians, Muslims, and the indigenous groups.
• Indigenous groups continue to follow the indigenous religion
of the area. They worship the myriad spirits who exist in
nature and hold unique ceremonies through which they pay
homage to them. There are said to be more than twenty
such groups. Their traditional clothing features combinations
of bright colors like red, yellow, and green, and anyone who
watches native dancers performing in traditional costume
will be spellbound.

13. The Ancestral Domain Issue
• These three groups live together on Mindanao, the history of this co-
existence has very much not been a peaceful one. The Christians who
came to Mindanao through the Philippine government’s resettlement
policy in the 1960s (largely from the Visayas) formed local
communities based on their Christian culture. And with the
government providing them with land, the area they occupied
steadily expanded. This was all done completely legally.

14. •Older Muslims remember this process somewhat
differently. They say that the Christians who came
from the north were the impoverished, those who
had been without land and enough to eat. the
Muslims loaned the Christians a portion of the land
that had been passed on to them by their ancestors.
•Then, one day, the Christians came to the Muslims
and announced that “The Philippines government has
formally recognized our ownership of the land that we
reclaimed through the sweat of our brows. From now
on, that land belongs to us, the Christians.”

15. •The two groups took up arms and
fought. The Christians to protect the
new paradise that they had worked hard
to make for themselves, and the
Muslims to protect the land that had
been passed on to them by their
ancestors.

16. The History of the Mindanao Conflict
•The Muslims living on Mindanao formed armed
groups and confronted the Philippine government as
part of a liberation movement to protect the rights
and land of the Moro people. The Moros are not
monolithic, however. They divided into two groups
that only concluded a peace agreement following
fighting and negotiations.

17. The Moro National Liberation Front
• In March 1968, young Muslim army recruits were brought to
Corregidor (an island in Manila Bay) for training. They were then
killed by Christian army officers after mutinying. When the officers
involved in the massacre were found not guilty by a military court, it
led to widespread Muslim outrage against Christians and the
intensification of the armed conflict between the two communities.
Calls rose up for the Muslims to show solidarity as Moros. Muslim
students in Manila labeled the massacre the “worst crime of the
century” and protests spread through the city. Conflicts between
armed Christian and Muslim groups on Mindanao and the Sulu
Archipelago escalated, resulting in more than 30,000 people fleeing
their fields and villages to avoid the conflict.

18. •These events provide the backdrop for the
founding of the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) in 1971 by Nur Misuari, a lecturer at the
University of the Philippines, and his two
associates Abul Khayr Alonto and Salamat
Hashim. The MNLF was an armed group that
sought the independence of the Bangsamoro
(the Moro people).

19. •Muslims in the southern Philippines can be
broadly divided – both linguistically and
geographically – between Mindanao and the
Sulu Archipelago. They can be then further
subdivided into groups like the Maguindanao,
Maranao, Tausug, Yakan, Sama, and Bajau.

20. The Final Peace Agreement with the MNL
• Armed attacks by Muslim separatists increased in the 1980s. The
number of internally displaced persons from Mindanao and the Sulu
Archipelago reached nearly a million people and more than 50,000
were killed in the fighting. Corazon Aquino became president of the
Philippines in 1986 following the People Power Revolution that
ousted Ferdinand Marcos. She took the Muslim issue very seriously
and held talks with Chairman Nur Misuari in August 1986 on the Sulu
Archipelago, the MNLF’s stronghold.

21. •Republic Act No. 6734 – An
Organic Act for the
Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao – was enacted in
1989 and explicitly stated that
the people of Muslim
Mindanao had the right of
autonomy “within the
framework of the Constitution
and national sovereignty.”

22. •The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) was established following a referendum,
though it only encompassed the four Muslim majority
provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, and
Maguindanao. The ARMM’s first gubernatorial
election was held in 1990 and it was decided that the
ARMM government’s offices would be placed in
Cotabato.

23. • Fidel Ramos, who had served as chief of
staff of the armed forces under Aquino, was
elected president in 1992. Immediately after
taking office, he moved to restore the
government’s peace negotiations with the
MNLF. Chairman Nur Misuari responded to
this effort and explored negotiating
positions with the MNLF leadership. The
result of these lengthy negotiations was the
Final Peace Accord signed by the Philippines
government and MNLF on September 2,.
Nur Misuari was elected governor of
th1996e ARMM government in elections
held later that year.

24. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front
•Salamat Hashim, who had founded the MNLF
alongside Nur Misuari, was born in Pagalungan,
Maguindanao in 1942. He spent eleven years in
Cairo and studied Islam at Al-Azhar University.
While a student, he came into contact with
Middle Eastern and African anti-colonial
movements and became greatly influenced by
contemporary Islamist thought.

25. •The 1976 Tripoli Agreement
was a peace deal between
the Philippine government
and the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF),
brokered by Libya under
Muammar Gaddafi. It aimed
to end the armed conflict in
Mindanao by granting
autonomy to Muslim-
majority areas.

26. •After the signing of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement
between the Philippine government and the
MNLF, differences surfaced between Salamat
Hasihm and Nur Misuari over the goals of the
Moro liberation movement and how they were
to be achieved. The MNLF split into a Misuari
faction based in the Sulu Archipelago and a
Salamat faction based in Maguindanao and
Lanao del Sur. These two factions would
eventually enter into armed conflict with each
other.

27. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front
• The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was
founded in 1984 by Salamat Hashim after
breaking away from the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) due to ideological
differences. Hashim, influenced by Islamist
thought, sought to establish an Islamic state
based on Sharia law to protect the
Bangsamoro people's rights. The MILF
continued armed resistance even after the
MNLF signed a peace agreement in 1996.

28. •However, in 2012, the MILF and the Philippine
government reached the Framework Agreement on
the Bangsamoro (FAB), leading to the 2014
Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
This resulted in the abolition of the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the creation
of a highly autonomous Bangsamoro government,
achieving justice for the Bangsamoro people.

29. •The highly autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao is
now called the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). It was established in
2019, replacing the former Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) after the ratification of
the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). The BARMM has
greater political and fiscal autonomy, allowing the
Bangsamoro people to have more control over their
governance, laws, and development.

30. Own Governments
•The Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) operates like an independent
government, with committees
handling politics, military, education,
health, finance, and more. It has a
structured political and military
system, with leadership at different
levels—from villages to provinces.

31. •The Bangsamoro Islamic Armed
Forces (BIAF) serves as the
military wing of the MILF, with
over 45,000 fighters and 31
military bases across Mindanao.
Soldiers, often called "farmer
soldiers," work in agriculture
when not engaged in combat.
They do not receive salaries but
follow the principle of self-
reliance, as promoted by MILF
founder Salamat Hashim.

32. • Women also play an essential role in
the MILF. The Bangsamoro Islamic
Women’s Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB)
consists of young and middle-aged
women who support soldiers by
protecting their homes, tending to the
wounded, and providing logistical help.
• During intense fighting, farming families
struggled as men went to war, leaving
women to manage agricultural work
alone. The BIWAB members were
young but dedicated, balancing their
duties at home and on the battlefield.

33. •The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) built a
strong support base by creating political and military
systems that reached even the smallest villages
(barangays). They provided services like education,
welfare, food, and financial support, making them
widely respected among the Bangsamoro people. This
solid backing helped the MILF gain recognition from
the Philippine government, which officially started
peace talks with them in 1997 under President
Ramos.

34. The Family Feud
• Rido is a clan or family feud common in Mindanao, particularly
among Muslim communities. It often arises from disputes over land,
political positions, honor, or personal conflicts. Because weapons are
easily available, these feuds can escalate into violent, long-term
conflicts, sometimes lasting for generations.
• Rido is a major obstacle to peace in Mindanao, as it weakens
communities, disrupts governance, and fuels further violence. While
peace agreements like those between the Philippine government and
the MILF help resolve larger conflicts, rido remains a local issue that
requires mediation, justice, and community efforts to end
permanently.

35. Agreements Between the Government of the
Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the
Bangsamoro

36. •The Government of the Republic of the
Philippines (GRP) and the Bangsamoro,
represented by the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) and later the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),
have signed several agreements aimed
at resolving conflicts and granting
autonomy to the Bangsamoro people.

37. •1976 Tripoli Agreement
•Signed on December 23, 1976 in Tripoli,
Libya under the mediation of Muammar
Gaddafi.
•It was the first peace agreement between
the Philippine government and MNLF.
•Granted autonomy to 13 provinces and 9
cities in Mindanao, but implementation
stalled due to disagreements.

38. Provinces Granted Autonomy
• Basilan
• Sulu
• Tawi-Tawi
• Zamboanga del Sur
• Zamboanga del Norte
• North Cotabato
• South Cotabato
• Maguindanao
• Lanao del Sur
• Lanao del Norte
• Sultan Kudarat
• Davao del Sur
• Palawan
Cities Granted Autonomy
• Marawi
• Cotabato City
• Zamboanga City
• Davao City
• Iligan City
• General Santos City
• Pagadian
• Dipolog
• Puerto Princesa (in Palawan)

39. Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao
5 provinces
•Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and
Tawi Tawi. The regional center is the City of
‑
Cotabato.

41. •The Tripoli Agreement granted autonomy to
these areas, its implementation stalled due
to conflicts between the Philippine
government and the MNLF.
•Instead of full autonomy, the government
created the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) in 1989, covering only
Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, and
Tawi-Tawi after a plebiscite.

42. 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA)
•Signed on September 2, 1996, between the
Philippine government and MNLF under
President Fidel Ramos.
•Led to the establishment of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM).
•Allowed MNLF members to join the
government and integrate into the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

43. 2012 Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB)
•Signed on October 15, 2012, between the Philippine
government and MILF.
•Established the transition from ARMM to
Bangsamoro.
•Recognized the Bangsamoro people’s right to self-
determination.
•Laid the groundwork for the creation of Bangsamoro
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

44. 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro (CAB)
•Signed on March 27, 2014, under President
Benigno Aquino III.
•Finalized the dissolution of ARMM and the
creation of BARMM.
•Ensured greater autonomy and self-governance
for the Bangsamoro people.
•Led to the passing of the Bangsamoro Organic
Law (BOL).

45. 2018 Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL)
•Signed into law on July 26, 2018, under
President Rodrigo Duterte.
•Provided for the establishment of BARMM with
broader autonomy and fiscal independence.
•Allowed for a parliamentary system in the
Bangsamoro region.
•Officially replaced ARMM with BARMM after a
plebiscite in January 2019.

46. Current Status
•BARMM was officially formed in 2019,
granting the Bangsamoro region more
political and economic power.
•The Bangsamoro Transition Authority
(BTA) governs the region until 2025,
when the first BARMM elections will be
held.