The Dictator’s Grip over Mindanao

Written by H. T.

TW: This essay contains mentions of death, torture, and rape.

For the people of Mindanao, this year marks half a century of unrest in the country’s southern region. The bloody regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ushered in an era of  state-sponsored violence against the Moros, slashing wounds that still bleed distrust within the so-called “land of promise.”

On Sept. 24, 1974, in the village of Malisbong, Palimbang town, the first four days of Ramadan commenced. Little did the residents know that by the end of the day, their local leaders were to be captured, with more than a thousand and a half men killed, three thousand women and children detained, and 300 houses destroyed by the armed forces.

This tragedy happened two years after the declaration of Martial Law, which Marcos Sr. justified as a means to “restore peace” against “insurgents.” Yet it is the same regime that perpetuated violence against Moros, with reports indicating that military men forced victims to dig their own graves. Today, a mass grave stands in the same barangay, a stark reminder of those lost to the depths of time.

The tragedy of Palimbang was followed by even more harrowing stories of bloodshed and fear across Mindanao. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), born out of the anguish following the Jabidah Massacre, became a pillar of resistance for embattled communities up to the early 2000s. Further frustration from the Moros of Mindanao boiled up in two further skirmishes: the Tran incident and the Tong Umapoy Massacre.

In 1973, military officers interrogated, tortured, and raped Moro civilians in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat. Ten years later, a Navy vessel opened fire on civilians returning from a sports event in Tawi-Tawi.

While the victims of the Palimbang Massacre have been acknowledged by the Commission on Human Rights, with survivors and families being among those seeking reparations, the legacy of this 50-year-old massacre once again cries against heavier injustice brought about by historical forgetfulness. 

This fading memory stems from decades of lacking Mindanao history in basic education over the past elementary and high school history curricula which focuses on national history. It leaves a vacuum in the history of the Philippine South during Martial Law, burying the bloodshed inflicted upon Moros and Indigenous peoples. 

Due to this gap in historical education, the youth are deprived of in-classroom discussions about Palimbang and other Martial Law atrocities. In a column by Franz Santos in 2020, he criticizes the state of the educational system as it does not very well present the whole picture of this dark period in Philippine history. He further emphasizes the importance of addressing these shortcomings to ensure that the lessons of Martial Law are not disregarded.

Indeed, this collective amnesia fueled by a lack of discourse has been exploited by pro-Marcos content creators, filling in the historical void by painting the 1970s as a golden age for Filipino people. This has led to Mindanao voters electing the dictator’s son into office, despite his father’s role in the region’s bloody history. 

Yet the nail in the amnesiac coffin of Mindanao’s Martial Law history was hammered by a Mindanaoan, a strongman in his own right. Former President Rodrigo Duterte, who once shook hands with Moro nationalist advocates, later became allies with the Marcoses. This alliance led to Duterte approving Marcos Sr.’s funeral in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, a decision that drew ire from affected Mindanaoans.

Indeed, a 50-year-old massacre deserves to be remembered, as the wounds of violence still run fresh in the rhetoric of peacebuilding amid the violent history of Mindanao. In an era when Philippine history is always left under the threat of revisionism, it becomes much more crucial to push for an adequate system of Mindanao history and education. Being wise to the chronicles of history indeed counts, as the narratives of Martial Law-era Mindanao ought to be brought to the national stage once more. Only then can we finally take a step forward towards healing the fractures of our history.