In 1935, the U.S. government colonial policy in condemning the Filipinos and Moros to the future bloody Mindanao war was revealed with the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth regime. This was the political stepping stone for the Christian Filipinos to be given independence and freedom, but also a political scheme towards the dependence and unfreedom of the Muslim and Highlander natives of Mindanao.

In the closing years of American occupation of the triumvirate Islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, America favoured more the once Spanish-colonized Filipinos rather than the free and sovereign Mindanao Muslim and indigenous natives to establish and practice self-governance patterned after a republican system. The American colonizers ignored the historical fact that the Bangsamoro people have established their independent Sultanate government since way back 1412 with the formation of the Sultanate of Sulu by Sayyid Abubakar as the first Sultanate ruler.      

In a grand conspiracy to continue the colonial slavery of the freedom-conscious indigenous natives of Mindanao under the prospective Philippine colonialism, the U.S. government and the interim Philippine Commonwealth deceptively schemed the continued colonization of Moroland.

Thus, after the plunder of the natural wealth of Mindanao for more than forty years, America consigned the Christian Filipinos to succeed them as colonizers of the Muslims and Animists of Mindanao. This was despite the violent and formal protest registered not to condemn the two opposing camps - Filipinos and Moros - into future perpetual war. This today is exemplified by the nagging Philippines-Bangsamoro war in Mindanao that already resulted in devastation and humanitarian disaster for the colonized natives.

Presently thus, being reminded of the words of caution of one famous African American Human Rights advocate, Martin Luther King, Jr., who said: 

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Could it not been possible for the U.S. government to act in good faith in 1935 up to 1946 not to have condemned the distinctly different Filipino and Bangsamoro peoples to the present endless Mindanao war?

As presently noted by Patricio D. Diaz, who writing for Minda News, clearly emphasized:

"The Bangsamoro problem was sowed during the Spanish colonization, sprouted and took shape during the American regime and could have been aborted in 1934. The Moro leaders' demand for redress through the three and a half decades until the grant of the Philippine Commonwealth was essentially similar to those of the Moro rebels in 1970s until today. But the Americans and Filipinos turned blind and deaf to the Moro cry for justice and equity, they would not compromise."

In truth, the insensitivity and indifference of the U.S. government to the sad plight of the Muslim and Indigenous peoples of Mindanao to suffer unspeakable misery and unthinkable appalling misfortune under Philippine colonialism, especially under the 4-decades long Mindanao war today, is beyond human consciousness and logic. This is truly a mockery of the American 'Bill of Rights' conceptualized by President James Madison to make America proud of its commitments and achievements to global peace and order.

Thus, what really prompted the U.S. government to condemn the Filipinos and Moros  to the present Philippines-Bangsamoro war in Mindanao when this could have been consciously averted by two significant historical events?

Firstly, the strong loud protestations of the oppressed and exploited Bangsamoro people not to be under the mercy of the colonial hegemony of the Christian Filipinos.

Secondly, the words of wisdom of Congressman Robert Bacon of New York to the U.S. Congress to give justice and fairness to the Moros to select their own form of government either practicing independence or being a member state of the United States of America. But never under oppressive and destructive Philippine colonial rule.

Boldly expressing strong opposition against inclusion in any future American-fabricated Philippine Republic, the Bangsamoro leaders in the past had formally submitted petitions to the U.S. government, warning of the coming ugly repercussions and violent hostilities between the Filipinos and Moros.

The outspokenness of the past Moro elders in starkly opposing Philippine colonial rule is even written and discussed vividly by Bambi L. Harper, who explained:

"The Moros were outspoken in their opposition to Filipino rule. In 1910, Datu Mandi, in a speech before Secretary of War Dickenson, stated: 'I am here, El Rajah Datu Mandi, representing the Moros. Here they are, the whole crowd of them...As I look about, I see far Moros than Filipinos: that is the reason it is called Moro Province."

"During the same meeting, the Moro Sakaluran came forward to address Dickenson: 'I am an old man. I do not want anymore trouble. But if it should come to that, that we are given to the Filipinos, I still would fight."

"Ulangkaya then rose and addressed the Secretary of War: 'I am not a civilized man but I have learned that slavery, killing and stealing are a bad thing. But if we are to be given over to another race, we had better all be hanged."

Furthermore, in the historical assembly of Moro leaders in Dansalan, Lanao, on March 18, 1935, a strong worded petition addressed to the U.S. government was unanimously approved to include the following alarming and warning words:

"...The Christian Filipinos occupy the islands of Luzon and Visayas, the Moros predominate in the Islands of Mindanao and Sulu. With regard to the forthcoming Philippine independence, we foresee what the condition we will be in and our children when independence is granted these islands. This condition will be characterized by unrest, suffering and misery...We do not want to be included in the Philippine independence (for) once an independent Philippines is launched there will be trouble between us and the Christian Filipinos..."

Thus, the ominous prophetic words of the worst chronic condition to come to pass between the Filipinos of Luzon and Visayas and the Moros of Mindanao have been clearly expressed by the cautious freedom-loving Muslim leaders in the past. But, tragically, this was not heeded by the American invaders, who were shrewdly scheming for their Christian Filipino protegees to succeed them as another Christian colonizers over the Muslim and Animist natives of Mindanao.

On the other hand, the opposition to the colonial slavery of the Bangsamoro people by America and subsequently by the Christian Filipinos was not only glaringly exhibited by the Mindanao natives themselves. Besides the protest shown by the famous American writer Mark Twain, this was also expressed by a conscious American Representative of New York, Robert Bacon.

In pleading for the cause of the Moros of Mindanao, Congressman Robert Bacon addressed the U.S. Congress in 1936 with the following words:

"The Christian Filipinos have no right...to determine the government of the Moro people according to their particular interests. This right was not given them by the Treaty of Paris, in violation of the conditions whereby the Moro leaders gave...obedience to American authority, and should never have been conceded by the Congress of the United States. If a reversal right  to these southern islands...exist in anyone, it is the Moro and not...Filipinos who is entitled thereto."

Nonetheless, the U.S. government turned deaf and blind to the words of wisdom of another American, who wanted to forestall the devastating effects of violent hostilities between the Mindanao Muslim and Lumad natives and the Christian Filipinos of Luzon and Visayas. Instead, American leadership listened only to the unscrupulous Filipino lobby group headed by the arrogant autocratic Manuel L. Quezon and political ilks, who were bent on subjugating the Bangsamoro people and colonizing Moroland for political and economic greed.    

Thus, without realizing the ugly consequences of refusing of to listen to the appeal of protest and dissent of both the Moro leaders and concerned American sympathizers, the U.S. government had callously condemned the Filipino and Bangsamoro communities into a violent clash of civilization and culture characterized now by the catastrophic 4-decades long Mindanao war.

Now, on this U.S. government-created turbulent social crisis, is it the hidden motive all along of both America and Filipino conspirators to condemn the colonizer and colonised to perpetual blood-letting and spectre of 'ethnic cleansing' in order to erase any trace of Moro race similar to the gradual extinction of the native Americans of the historical sovereign Indian Nation?

In like manner, does being condemned to the endless Mindanao conflict include the continuous 'unrest, suffering and misery' of the colonised and terrorised native inhabitants the end result of the destructive program of the U.S. government?

Is the U.S. government-designed program of continuous human pain and suffering of the colonized Muslim and Animist natives of Mindanao anchored on leading them into inhumane submission as 'dumb driven cattle' desperately jumping into becoming 'Filipinos' against their vehement will? Thus simply, to be mighty proud of the Filipino "cursed identity from inception", according to one Mindanaoan Atty. Ely Velez Pamatong.

Why is it difficult for the American and Filipino colonialist invaders to accept the truth that the Bangsamoro people of Mindanao could not then and until now accept fundamentally being identified as 'Filipinos' because they could not be children of the Catholic Spanish soldiers and friars as well as Christianized Indios?

Worse, as beholden common subjects of the immoral King Philip II of Spain and colonial slaves of the Spanish kingdom, the Spanish colonizers were even utilizing the Christianized Indios-turned-Filipinos since 1872 as 'foot-soliders and spies' in their ugly war of conquest and Christianization campaigns against the Muslim and Lumad natives of Mindanao. But never did succeed.

Clearly, this historical event is described by Dr. Cesar Adib-Majul, who wrote:

"The Spaniards made full utilization of naive troops, principally Visayans, Pampangos and Christianized natives of Northern Mindanao, to fight their war against the Muslims of Sulu and Mindanao...Indios were made to row the boats of the Spaniards, served as spearmen or shock troops, act as spies, and perform other mercenary tasks for their conquerors...as a response to all these, the Moros begun to hate and despise natives who not only failed to preserve their freedom but who were also used to deprive others of freedom for the sake of aliens. In the vocabulary of the Muslims, the word 'Visayan' became synonymous to 'slave'; while the words 'Filipino' and 'Christian' became identified with each other. In brief, the Moro was, to his own mind, neither a slave nor a Filipino."

Thus, redundantly but only for point of emphasis, it is indeed a historical ridicule why the Spanish invaders were able to hoodwink America into buying for $20,000,000 the Bangsamoro homeland of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, leading to the anomalous Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898.

On this highly immoral transaction, Prof. Clemencio Bascar has repeatedly pointed out the salient historical facts:

"...The unimpeachable and indisputable proofs that Mindanao and Sulu were not colonial possession of the Crown of Spain and should not have been sold and ceded to the United States under Article III of the December 10, 1898 Treaty of Paris."

"(1) These two Sultanates (Sultanate of Sulu and Maguindanao) were not conquered by Spain; (2) These two Sultanate were not colonized by Spain; (3) These two Sultanates were not Christianized by Spain; (4) The adherents of these two Sultanates were not subjects of the Spanish Crown; (5) The last Spanish Governor-General, Diego de los Rios, surrendered to General Vicente Solis Alvarez (Datu Tumanggong) on May 18, 1899 following the capture of the biggest Spanish fortress, Fort Pilar in Zamboanga, which completely removed from these two sovereign Sultanates any threats of Spanish invasion or conquest."

                                                   (To be continued)

PART IV -  ILL-EFFECTS OF AMERICAN COLONIAL POLICY UNDER AN AMERICAN-CREATED PHILIPPINE COLONIALISM 

                                                    CONCLUSION: 

HOW NOT TO CONDEMN FOREVER FILIPINOS AND MOROS TO THE MINDANAO WAR