Bangsamoro edit
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Bangsamoro or Moroland is the name for the "homeland" of the Moro.
The term comes from the Malay word bangsa, meaning nation or people, and the Spanish word moro, from the older Spanish word Moor, the Reconquista-period term for Arabs or Muslims.
It may also refer to the Moro people, in general. These include the Tausug, the Maranao, Maguindanaoan, and the Banguingui.
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Bangsamoro covers the disputed federal state of Sabah in Northern Borneo Island, the provinces of Basilan, Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Palawan, Sarangani, Shariff Kabunsuan, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga Sibugay; and the cities of Cotabato, General Santos, Marawi, Pagadian, Puerto Princesa, Zamboanga and the City of Isabela in Basilan.
Other interpretations may include territories that used to form North Borneo including Sabah and the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan. This area is currently under the Sabah dispute.
Bangsamoro was originally home to the Muslim sultanates of Mindanao (such as Maguindanao and Sulu). These sultanates resisted Spanish colonial rule, and were therefore not fully integrated with the rest of the islands.
After the American occupation of the islands (as well as the Moro Rebellion) the area was slowly integrated into the rest of the country.
Moro Province is the former name of the combined and undivided provinces of Cotabato, Davao, Sulu, and Zamboanga.
The Department of Mindanao and Sulu was an agency of the United States colonial administration in the Philippine Islands tasked to administer all Muslim-dominated areas in the territory. It was established on July 23, 1914, pursuant to Act No. 2408, replacing the Moro Province after the latter was divided into the then districts of Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotabato, Davao, Misamis, Palawan, Sulu, Surigao, and Zamboanga.
It was eventually abolished in 1920, after the responsibility for the administration of Moro lands was transferred to the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes of the Philippines' Department of the Interior. It was headed by a governor, subordinate to the U.S. Governor-General of the Philippine Islands. Frank C. Carpenter served as its governor from 1914 to 1920.
The area was occupied by Japanese Imperial forces from 1942 until its liberation in 1945. The local Moro guerrillas used traditional weapons such as the Kris, Barong and Kampilan while aiding their liberators.
Two decades after the Philippines reclaimed its independence from the U.S., the area was claimed by the Moro National Liberation Front, who intended it to become the "Moro homeland" separate from the Republic of the Philippines. However, claims were suspended due to a peace agreement in 1996. Currently, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) seeks to establish an independent Islamic state in this area. According to Tawi-Tawi Congressman Nur G. Jaafar, however,
| “ | Mindanao is not represented by MILF fighters only. [T]he silent majority are the peace-loving civilians in the region who were forced to migrate to other areas to escape the hostilities of the rebel group.1 | ” |
In 1990, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was created to act as a homeland for Moros. However, only the provinces within the Sulu Archipelago (excluding the city of Isabela) and the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao (excluding Cotabato) are currently included.