The Relationship between the Moros and Indigenous Peoples in the Southern Philippines: Toward Establishment of the Bangsamoro Government

Abstract

It is generally mentioned that there are “Tri-People” in the Southern Philippines: (1) Moro, (2) Lumads/Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and (3) Christians. The Moro are commonly known as the Islamized Indigenous Peoples, while IPs are the un-Islamized Indigenous Peoples, and Christians are the settlers originally from Luzon and Visayas and their descendants. The armed conflict in the Southern Philippines, waged primarily by the Moro, is based on reclaiming the right to self-determination in their ancestral domain(s). Therefore, properly establishing an autonomous government to realize this goal has always been a key issue in the peace process. One of the reasons why this reclamation has not been solved for more than 40 years is that there are also IPs and Christians living in the proposed territory of autonomous government, and they cannot be sure whether their rights will be secured in the new political entity, which will be governed mainly by the Moro.

As of writing this paper in December 2014, the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed to a roadmap to establish an autonomous government, named the Bangsamoro government, by 2016.

Therefore, this paper focuses on the three IP populations whose majorities will be incorporated into this new government―Tiduray, Dulangan Manobo, and Lambangian―and discusses their positions by highlighting the two issues which have been contested in the process: (1) ancestral domain(s) and (2) identity.

First, the paper introduces a legend often used as a historical base to discuss the two issues, and how the relationship between the Moro and IPs was constructed before colonization. Second, the historical process of the marginalization of the Moro and IPs in their ancestral domain(s) is reviewed. Third, the position of the IPs in the peace process is examined. As the result, the paper illustrates that there exist two different views among the IPs regarding these core issues, and indicates the importance of peace-building on a grassroots level among the Moro and IPs.