MNLF: Celebrating 1st Anniversary Declaration of Bangsmoro Republik, using “rule of law” in land-grabbing causing Mindanao War and invoking Philippine Constitution in perpetuating colonialism

Editorial posted to the MNLF Website (Aug 14): Celebrating 1^st Anniversary Declaration of Bangsmoro Republik, using “rule of law” in land-grabbing causing Mindanao War and invoking Philippine Constitution in perpetuating colonialism



CELEBRATING 1ST ANNIVERSARY DECLARATION OF BANGSAMORO REPUBLIK

This month of August 2014 has registered another milestone event for the MNLF-launched freedom struggle of the Muslim and Animist Lumad natives as well as conscious Christians of the Bangsamoro homeland of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (MINSUPALA).

The proclamation of the independence of the United Federated States of Bangsamoro Republik (UFSBR) by the MNLF leadership in Zamboanga City simultaneously in major MNLF camps in Mindanao on August 12, 2013 with Davao City as capital center has a bright cause for celebrating its first anniversary.

Just as the MNLF freedom fighters gathered in Mindanao island on August 12, this year, in commemorating the 1st Anniversary of the independence declaration of Bangsamoro Republik highlighted by the exhortation of MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari, the well-known MNLF Peace Panel Spokesman Reverend Absalom Cerveza had informed the global media that, “the OIC had rejected BBL and Chairman Nur Misuari has to follow OIC.”

This was in response to the invitation of a member of Philippine Congress inviting the MNLF Chairman to a congress hearing on the enactment of a new law to establish another version Philippine autonomous government to be named “Bangsamoro.” This is purportedly to replace the farcical Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) created by Philippine Congress under President Corazon C. Aquino in 1987.

Quite similar with the rejection of ARMM by the OIC and MNLF in 1987, the Bangsamoro

Basic Law (BBL) concept crafted today by the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III has to be also rejected by the OIC and MNLF because it is a far cry from the complete and correct implementation of the MNLF-OIC-GRP Jakarta Peace Agreements of September 2, 1996.

Furthermore, it is even worse now because the new Aquino government have not respected the 1996 Peace Agreement, but instead decided to come up with another peace agreement, declaring a “failed experiment” the ARMM created by the previous Aquino regime.  

Consequently, the deceptive political course of action by the present Aquino government compelled the MNLF to revert back to armed freedom struggle to regain complete independence and national self-determination for the Bangsamoro people by any means possible. The MNLF succeeded to conduct peaceful rallies in Davao, Basilan and Jolo calling for moral support towards the sacred cause, but the Zamboanga City local government violently suppressed the MNLF peace demonstration. This led to the sudden eruption of bloody war between the colonial Filipino military occupation forces and the MNLF freedom fighters inside the city sometime September 2013.

 

The 20-day September AFP-MNLF war caused devastating humanitarian disaster and the burning of “10,160 houses and mosques” in the mostly-populated six villages in the city center. The burning of civilian homes and worship-houses was caused by AFP helicopter and naval boat bombings similar to the February 7, 1974 AFP-MNLF war that razed to ground zero almost the entire town of Jolo. The 1974 Jolo inferno resulted in the mass killing of more than 20,000 Muslim, Christian and Chinese civilian residents.

 

USING ‘RULE OF LAW’ IN LAND-GRABBING AND CAUSING MINDANAO WAR, AND INVOKING ‘PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION’ IN JUSTIFYING PHILIPPINE COLONIALISM

 

Philippine history is richly noted by the injustice, exploitation and oppression conducted by the Filipino colonizers against the colonized Muslim and Animist Lumad natives of Mindanao. But the Christian Filipino leaders have always refused to see the light of historical reality. Totally insensitive to the inhumane cliché of ‘exploitation of man by another man,’ the past Filipino colonialist land-grabbers, disguised as ‘law makers,’ used the majesty of the ‘rule of law’ in land-grabbing the Bangsamoro homeland of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (MINSUPALA) and the ancestral domain of the Igorots of Cordillera Region (‘Mountain Province’) in 1935 and 1946. This was notoriously characterized by the Philippine Commonwealth National Assembly Legislative Act No. 4197 of February 12, 1935 otherwise known as Quirino-Recto Colonization Act, and the immoral arbitrary annexation of the Bangsamoro and Igorot ancestral homeland into America-created ‘Philippine Republic’ in July 4, 1946.

 

Clearly, the injustice done has caused today the decades-long Filipino-Moro war in Mindanao, registering more than 200,000 mortal casualties, countless material losses and series of humanitarian disaster events. The Mindanao war today has been considered the longest running war in Asia, contributing to the ugly image of the proud ‘Catholic Filipino nation’ as the perennial ‘sick man of Asia.’

 

It is thus seen that as long as peace is repeatedly betrayed by the Philippine colonial government, the increase rate of human and material losses as well as humanitarian disaster scenarios is becoming more certain.

 

In analyzing the past historical events after the illegal colonization and forced occupation of Mindanao, the Manila government under different presidential personalities have had used the old ‘Philippine Constitution’ and the 1987 ‘wishy-washy Philippine Constitution’ in justifying the perpetuation of Philippine colonialism in Bangsamoro and Igorot ancestral homeland. Not to mention the usage of brutish Philippine military ‘law of the jungle’ that ‘might is right’ to inflict pain and misery on the colonized victims.

 

It is sad to note that the so-called Filipino patriotic ‘constitutionalists,’ like Father Joaquin Bernas, Senator Merriam Defensor-Santiago, UP Dean Prof. Magalona and others, have only turned blind eye to the gross injustice committed by the past unscrupulous Filipino politicians in justifying the broad daylight land-grabbing of the historical lands of the Indigenous peoples of Mindanao and Cordillera.

 

Strangely now questions and harsh realities come to mind, why there are human beings born to lie, exploit and oppress their fellow humans by using ‘rule of law’ and ‘constitution’ to justify injustice, yet they profess to be conscious Christian Catholics? Did Jesus Christ and other gods teach them to glorify land-grabbing of ancestral homelands and killing of colonized victims whose only fault in life is to dare and struggle to reclaim their freedom and inherent properties?

Why are the proud Filipino ‘constitutionalists’ without conscience and heart to understand simply that land-grabbing is a mortal sin against humanity because it entails stealing the natural wealth of the colonized natives? Worse still, why are the Filipino ‘constitutionalists” that morally courageous to gospel, encourage and praise the Filipino military war-mongers to kill and to massacre the native inhabitants of Mindanao, including the aged,  women and children (not to include the raping of even pregnant women) just to prove their colonial might?

Furthermore, why is this cruel inhumanity and gruesome injustice done against the Bangsamoro people, on the other hand, a call of patriotism and love of country to both Filipino colonialist land-grabbers and legal ‘constitutionalists’? Why can’t they open their eyes and heart to see the true light that the monumental injustice done is just built on colonization, mass killing and continued war?

Thus closely viewing the appalling situation, including the colonial slavery of the Muslim and Lumad natives, it is truly a tragedy what the colonized victims are enduring today.  

Hence, the chronic and tragic condition should serve a clarion call for the conscious Bangsamoro and Filipino communities as well for the entire world to help end the continuing violent hostilities in war-torn Mindanao. But it would take more than a ceasefire and deceptive peace talks and agreements. It would take peace. And peace cannot happen without an end to colonization and occupation. This surely speaks the truth about Mindanao peace.

 

http://mnlfnet.com/Articles/Editorial_14Aug2014_Celebrating%201st%20Anniversary%20Independence.htm