Pres. Duterte Traces Historical Roots of Mindanao Conflict

Zamboanga City — In his speech on Wednesday at the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) headquarters here in Camp General Basilio Navarro, President Rodrigo R. Duterte traced the roots of the Mindanao conflict.

He said it started when the Spaniards colonized the Philippines beginning 1571 and propagated the religion of Christianity with gun support from the Spanish military. This was around a hundred years after the Muslim religion was introduced by the Moro people in Mindanao.

In the 20th century, the President said Americans cultivated Mindanao and invited people from Luzon and the Visayas to come to Mindanao “because it is the land of promise.”

The President said he doesn’t have any problem with Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Musuari. “We have agreed in principle na mag-usap para to resolve the conflict of the history of Mindanao,” he revealed, adding he also has no problem with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

However, he said “may problema ako sa Abu Sayyaf because they are terrorists.” They operate mostly in the Sulu area where the Tausugs are the dominant ethnic group.

PRRD recounted, “In the olden times, yung kwento ng mga ninuno, the Tausug warrior is an honorable man. Eh bakit ba ‘yan— putulan ng ulo yung mga hostage niya. Hindi trabaho ito ng totoong Tausug. Something is going wrong. Kaya nakikiusap ako sa mga Tausug sana mag-intindihan nalang tayo at you know, we craft the Philippines, gawin natin itong Pilipinas na magustuhan ng lahat, walang nalulugi.”

He recalled hearing stories before that among Tausugs, “pag nag-break ka ng word of honor, patayan yan. Pero it has deteriorated into some kind of cannibalism.”

According to the President, his own grandmother was a Maranao Moro and he gets hurt every time there is fighting in Mindanao. “Eh bakit tayo magpapatayan? Magkwentuhan na lang tayo,” he said. (PNA) FPV/PND/EBP