Chapter 13: Bangsamoro under American Rule 1913-1935

New U.S. Policy towards Bangsamoro

In 1912 the American Insular Government adopted new policies which had important implications for the Muslim inhabitants of the Southern Philippines: 1. Bangsamoro had previously been administered separately from the Northern Philippines, but now the U.S. began to consider the two as a single colony. 2. The new policy of Filipinization affected Bangsamoro: the American Governor, Frank Carpenter, transferred supervision of the Muslim south over to Filipino administrators from the north. Until this time, the Moro did not consider themselves Filipinos. The result of the Filipinization program was that by 1920, the majority of government administrators in the Southern Philippines were Catholic Christians, giving rise to Moro complaints that the real meaning of Filipinization was Christian Filipinization.

Chap 13, pg 1

Christian Resettlement in Mindanao

In 1913 the Insular Government introduced a policy of moving Christian settlers to Mindanao, allegedly to address the growing problem of landless farmers in Luzon and the Visayas. The Moro had been a majority in Mindanao and owned most of the land, but it seems that the real goal of American policy was to break down the historical autonomy of the Muslim territories. Eventually the Moro became a marginalized minority with greatly reduced landholdings.

Department of Mindanao and Sulu

In 1913 the Moro Province was renamed as the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, and its integration with the rest of the Philippine colony was begun. Thus began the Era of the Department. The Moro not happy with this, but they were exhausted by years of conflict with the Americans. It was a generally peaceful era.

1916 Jones Law and the Moro

The 1916 Jones Law (next chapter), which promised eventual independence to the Philippines, was viewed positively by most Christian Filipinos. However, the Moro perceived the rapid Filipinization of the civil service and American commitment to eventual Philippine independence as serious threats. In the Moro view, an independent Philippines would be dominated by Christians, their traditional enemies.

Struggles over Land

Historically, the Moro believed that land cannot be absolutely owned by individuals: human beings are just temporary trustees of all Gods creations, including land. In 1913 the Insular Government passed land laws which required registration of land ownership through land titles; unregistered land automatically became open for occupation and purchase by American and Philippine citizens. This was in direct contradiction of customary Moro law. Some Moro went through the land registration process and became owners of large tracts of lands. These were the forerunners of todays richest Muslim families. But many if not most Moro were dispossessed of their traditional lands.

Chap 13, pg 2

The Approach of Independence

As moves towards Philippine independence from the United States got under way, the Moro opposed integration into a Philippine Republic: In a 1921 petition to U.S. President Warren Harding, the people of Sulu archipelago said that they would prefer being part of the United States rather than be included in an independent Philippine nation.

Zamboanga Declaration: Opposition to Annexation

In 1924 a group of Moro leaders proposed that the Islands of Mindanao and Sulu, and the Island of Palawan be made an unorganized territory of the United States of America. This expressed their wish that in the event the U.S. granted the colony independence, that the Bangasamoro homeland would be granted a separate independence from the Christian Philippines.

Dansalan Declaration

In 1935, Muslim datus in Lanao expressed the same desire, asking President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the American people should not release us until we are educated and become powerful because we are like a calf who, once abandoned by its mother, would be devoured by a merciless lion. However, Christian Filipino politicians rejected the idea of separation or special status for the Moro regions. When the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established in 1935, the Christian Filipinos gained control over government institutions.

Results

The Americans succeeded where the Spanish had failed in vanquishing and colonizing the Moros. There were several results: * The Moro sultanates were no longer independent; * Many Muslim inhabitants of Bangsamoro were deprived of land their families had farmed for generations. * The Americans gave political control over Bangsamoro to Catholic Filipinos from the north. This exacerbated deep-seated prejudices between different ethnolinguistic groups. * The Moros were becoming marginalized in their own homeland.