Reading Jamju's mind . .

(Here is a man’s opinion on Mindanao and the Bangsamoro and related issues. He wields his mind and arguments ubiquitously in every space of taboan.net and impresses his eloquence upon everyone in that site – old and newcomers. He seems to have mastered his own kind of argument and brandishes them so skillfully – you would not know whether he is admirable, credible, annoying, a plain and simple skilled pauper, or all of the above.)

(Frankly, I can’t help but admire his eloquence, have mixed thoughts on his credibility and get annoyed in the end by how he tries to disprove every point you raise. That seems to be what he had defined for his existence and purpose in life. To help you know how this man’s mind runs.. here are some of his impervious remarks on some issues concerning Mindanao, the ARMM, the Bangsamoro, the Moro fronts as well as the Abu Sayyaf.. This man’s full name is Jamju Alano Rivera from Isabela, Basilan. It's for you to believe in him or otherwise get awefully amused by his verbal antics!)

These are what he says:

1. On the MILF’s clamor to restore the Peace Talks

Why force the issue? Why look to "solve" this impasse if the only solution in the minds of the MILF is the one that they have always insisted on all this time? The MILF has thrashed and cried and whined for a Bangsamoro Homeland (or a more euphemistically termed "Juridical Entity") like an infant bawling for its milk... ! Why is it that it should always be the Government of the Republic of the Philippines who should always give in? More precisely, why are all these talks being done above the heads of the Filipinos who live and work in Mindanao? What's with all the secrecy anyway? Can't they handle a public relations backlash once all these "talks" and "offers" are laid out for all to see and hear? Has the people of Mindanao (and I do mean the entire Mindanao...and not merely the gerrymandered Mindanao that the MILF proposes to be called their BJE) ever been asked about this?

I remember distinctly that several plebiscites and referenda were held and conducted... and the constant reply by Mindanaoans was and is a loud and emphatic "NO!" Why can't the MILF just accept this reality? Nagbibingi-bingihan ba?An why the arrogance of NOT RECOGNIZING THE CONSTITUTION? Well then... if that's the case, then these brigands...these criminals...shouldn't wonder any longer why WE WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE THEIR BOGUS CLAIMS OF SOVEREIGNTY OVER ANY PART OF MINDANAO!

Tit for tat. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

Yes, you may add us up under that column which says: "HAWKS"... the stand of Mindanao's Business Sector on this issue is clear and incontrovertible: NO BANGSAMORO HOMELAND. NO MILF TREATY. NO FURTHER NEGOTIATIONS. These criminals should be rounded up like common law crooks and tried and incarcerated for the bandits that they truly are.Otherwise, these MILF bullies can always give up their guns, go back to their farms and businesses, make a good and legitimate living, pay their taxes, marry off and multiply their tribe. Wouldn't that be much simpler? Wouldn't that be a much better alternative?

Self-determination is not a destablizing concept IF AND ONLY IF it is determined by all the people in a particular community. Otherwise, self-determination is like 13 southern states seceding and calling themselves the CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA all for the defense of a way of life based on one group being superior over another... what we're trying to point out here is... not all struggles for self-determination are right and correct just because some people think it is.And the one in Mindanao by the Moros alone...surely is not!

2. On his Wish List for Mindanao

(1) a true and genuine PEACE that involves the people of Mindanao first and foremost...let the MINDANAOANS decide on the best form of peace it wants for its own home...the National Government and the Organization of Islamic Countries should step back and listen to what WE, THE PEOPLE want for Mindanao;

(2) the abolition of the AUTONOMOUS REGION OF MUSLIM MINDANAO...which is the biggest legal form of government sanctioned corruption by petty warlords and local political kingpins;

(3) the abbrogation/nullification of all existing TREATIES, AGREEMENTS, COMMUNIQUE'S, etc. with the MNLF, MILF, CPP-NPA, and whatever other sham organization comes forward to claim the voice of Mindanao;

(4) the non-recognition of a BANGSAMORO HOMELAND...there is no such thing. There is a Philippine State. The Constitution of the Philippines must be above all other considerations. Territorial claims by indigenous minorities and other ethnic cultural groups is nothing but an illegitimate rush to grab lands from legally established Filipino land-owners;

(5) the opening of Mindanao to long-term foreign investments...WE WANT MORE TRADE, NOT AID...MINDANAO IS NEITHER CHRISTIAN NOR MUSLIM...IT IS FILIPINO!!!

3. On the Bangsamoro’s Claim for a Homeland

Yes, I agree there WAS such a thing as a Bangsamoro Homeland before Christian Settlers came over in the late 19th century till the early part of the 20th Century... WAS, because this Homeland that you speak of has gone the way of Prussia, Chou, Annam, Khmer, Assyria, Persia, Rome, and the Grand Empires of the Spanish, the Portuguese, the French, the British, Nazi Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics! IT DOES NOT EXIST NOW....THEY ALL DO NOT EXIST NOW. To insist that it does... that they all do... is probably a lesson taught by your History Professor, not mine.

ALSO ONLY PARTLY TRUE... because as much as Christian Filipinos migrated into Mindanao (up to the present...this internal movement of peoples has never really stopped...!) conversely, Muslim Filipinos were likewise migrating into Visayas and Luzon all at the same time! BEFORE, your Sultans ruled 80% of Mindanao... NOW, what piece of Mindanao do they rule? Going by your logic, sir...since your Sultans ruled 80% of Mindanao, and therefore that you basically own Mindanao in perpetuity... then are you likewise proposing that we return the rest of the Philippines to the Datus and the Rajahs that can be assumed to have ruled the rest of the islands before Magellan came to visit his Cebuano pal Lapu-Lapu? Oh well then, why stop there? Since the Datus and the Rajahs...and yes, even your Sultans, were preceded by a millennia of Aetas... then are you willing to give up your precious Homeland to the Aetas (from whom we've never heard a peep on about these "ancient" rights!)???Think about it sir...deeply... your forefathers may have come to Mindanao before my forefathers did... but even your ancestors weren't the first here... unless you yourself ARE IGNORANT OF YOUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY. Again, not my fault... probably your History Professor’s…again.

Besides, now that 80% of Mindanao is beyond the grasp of all your modern-day Sultans combined (i.e. Ampatuans, Akbars, Dimaporos, Tans, Loongs, Paglases, Macarambons, Datumanongs, Rasuls, etc.)... did you ever hear any of your Christian neighbors even sheepishly propose that this 80% be called an Autonomous Region in Christian Mindanao? Or worse... a Bansang Kristiyano Homeland??? NO!Why don’t we? Because we acknowledge the inherent strength that unity and understanding between peoples can bring to our nation... especially here in Mindanao. We do not want to keep Christian Filipinos and Muslim Filipinos separated by these ever widening rifts. We want these artificial borders between the Christians and the Muslims to be totally erased from the map. Its a reverse APARTHEID SYSTEM which we do not wish to be institutionalized any further than it already has. We want all Christian and Muslim Filipinos to learn the beauty of living together harmoniously without too much of the excess baggage of the past which, we admit, has been equally violent on both sides. The debate on whether or not we should have a Federal State in Mindanao is heartily accepted… we actually support the idea as well… but please, YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY RIGHT WHATSOEVER TO CALL IT MUSLIM… as much as we never even dreamed of calling it Christian or Lumad or Buddhist or Animist or Agnostic or Atheist! Nor should it be called a homeland of the Moros alone… as much as we would not wish to call it a Federal State of Visayans, Tagalogs, Ilocanos and Ilonggos (who are clearly the majority in Mindanao’s population now!) alone as well.So we insist that there is no Bangsamoro Homeland as much as there is no Christian Homeland in Mindanao today. Again, our stand is, and it remains: Mindanao is neither Christian nor Muslim...it is Filipino.

Who says that we should be thankful that they (the Muslims) are claiming only a very small portion of Mindanao. We should be thankful indeed that the MILF is blackmailing the sovereign Philippine State into accepting a Bangsamoro Homeland carved out of its sovereign territory? Thankful why? Because otherwise, if we insist on not recognizing this bogus homeland of theirs, all hell will break loose? We should be thankful that the MILF, just like the MNLF, and just like the Abu Sayyaf...are asking for just a very small portion of Mindanao in exchange for Peace of Mind? In legal jurisprudence...sir...I'm sorry to say it as it should be said... but this is called EXTORTION. In street lingo... we call it a HOLD UP... !

They want something, sir... they go on ahead and offer something for it... they buy it... exactly like what my grandparents did when they BOUGHT the lands that this homeland of for the Moros is claiming to encompass right now. They want something? They shouldn't take it for free… claiming some divine intervention in the distant past awarded these lands to them in some Biblical passage akin to Israel’s being given, by Divine fiat, to Moses’ descendants...!The problem with your arguments sir...is that you want US to respect people who do not even care to reciprocate the respect that they so noisily demand! Respect the laws of the land first and they shall earn the respect of law-abiding citizens everywhere. They cannot demand respect when they themselves do not respect the legal systems that the State upholds...as enshrined in our Constitution...and as protected by our Republic and its duly constituted institutions. Respect the MILF? Respect the MNLF? Respect the Abu Sayyaf? Respect their reasons for making so much trouble in these last four decades? Sir, you ask too much!And then the temerity to raise that oft-repeated mantra that Christian Settlers are "LAND GRABBERS"?

Let me ask you sir... And I do hope I do not prick your sensibilities with my questioning... but, what of the Muslim Filipinos who live and work and own lands in Luzon and Visayas? What of them? Are they land grabbers as well? I do not believe us ever calling them that. They may not be as numerous but they are there... vital members of Phiippine society, brave, valiant, and proud of their heritage as much as the next Ilocano, Pampango, Bicolano, Bisaya, Ilonggo, Waray and Tagalog! And we are happy and grateful to live our lives with them as or neighbors and friends and family.And yet, according to your own flawed logic, only the Filipino settlers in Mindanao, professing a religion other than yours, should be considered LAND GRABBERS. This has always been the separatist movement's guiding principle, has it? Misuari was mouthing this as early as his UP days. Hashim Salamat also. And Abdurajak Janjalani. Even some of the most exalted Muslim Senators, Legislators and Local Executives have perpetuated this fantastic MYTH that the Moros own Mindanao...and that we are nothing more than unwanted guests.

But really sir, by your own admission that the first owners are the rightful owners...then only the Aetas actually have the real right to even call anyone land grabbers. Not you! So, unless you are an Aeta sir... your calling my forefathers land grabbers is simply the height of arrogance and/or ignorance (whichever way you might wish to put it...sir.), again...an issue that you must really take up with your History Professor."Your forefathers do not own a square inch of land in Mindanao. These lands were tilled by Muslims and the Lumads before your grandparents came.

"TRUE!!! Alas...my forefathers do not own a square inch of land in Mindanao! I Agree. Why? Because they are all dead. The legal system simply does not allow dead people to claim ownership over lands in Mindanao or elsewhere in the Philippines for that matter. Yes, these lands were tilled by Muslims and Lumads before my grandparents came... but just like my industrious and innovative and law-abiding grandparents... your grandparents and the grandparents of the lumads are all equally DEAD. Just as much as your Bangsamoro Homeland IS DEAD. Just as much as the great empires of the Incas and the Aztecs of the Americas ARE DEAD. And the Kingdoms and Principalities that used to make up modern-day Europe ARE ALL DEAD. You get my drift?We own pieces of land in Mindanao because our OCTs and TCTs say so. You can go as far as the International Court of Justice at The Hague... and you will find the same answer, sir. Moreover, our Land Titles are guaranteed and protected by the sovereign Republic of the Philippines... NOT by your mythical Bangsamoro Homeland...Besides, my gardener makes my garden all tidy and pretty... but it still doesn't make him the owner of my yard... unless of course, he buys it from me.

So my grandparents came and bought land from your grandparents... whatever reasons your grandparents may have had in selling this land that they only "claimed" to be theirs in the first place, is an issue wholly between you and your grandparents. Why your grandparents refused to have your vast "ancestral lands" properly titled and registered and taxed... is something that you must make extra effort to find out for yourselves. Your grandparents sell my grandparents a pot of land and after the day they all die you simply come out of the woodwork and claim that my grandparents stole this pot from your family...! That's a cheapshot. That's just plain and simple delusional. That's like Imelda Marcos claiming that she and her family owns one half of the Philippines! Did you ever realize how many millions around the world guffawed at her over such a dubious claim?After Mindanao, will you go on ahead and lawyer for the descendants of Raha Sulayman and Lakandula and Raha Humabon and Raha Matanda... claiming Metropolitan Manila and Cebu for your clients as well?

Finally, I say this... those who refuse to know and appreciate the realities of the present should bring their case to the courts and kingdoms of the past (if they still exist!)... and seek judgment in a past that they must first resurrect ... yes, history records a lot of things ... and its pages are littered by records of fallen kingdoms, lost empires, defeated principalities, abolished shogunates, eliminated reichs, false gods, faiths and prophets, numerous experiments in human society ... and the common thread running through each and every story is one and the same ... that they are all a part of history... HISTORY.

But you have the choice to see past these discombobulating contortions in your understanding of the world if you really wish to get past your own prejudices. If you will just accede to the realities of the present and say, finally: “Whatever we had before, we do not have now... but what we could have in the future is a far greater alternative than the past” ... that is: a united people, blind to the differences of religion, culture, race and origin... ONE UNITED PEOPLE. ONE STRONG NATION! NOT CHRISTIAN...NOR MORO...BUT FILIPINO. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that, do you?

4. On the Abolition of the ARMM

No, sir... abolish the ARMM not merely because it is corrupt... abolish the ARMM because the whole premise of establishing it is inherently wrong... it should not exist even if it was not corrupt.The fact that IT IS CORRUPT is just a case of "I told you so".

Who asked that ethnic lines be drawn to divide us in the first place? By calling this mythical homeland 'Bangsamoro'... by naming your autonomous region a 'Muslim Mindanao' region... who drew the first line? It all used to be just Mindanao.We only aim to erase these artificial dividing lines "imposed" on all of us in Mindanao. We should stop calling each other Christian or Muslim or Lumad... just as much as Americans should stop calling their citizens Whites, Blacks and Latinos... our worldview dictates that we all start calling ourselves simply, FILIPINOS. That's it. No more, no less.

Lastly, we agree with you wholeheartedly that all Good Mindanaoans should work to vanquish all Bad Mindanaoans, once and for all. We too, believe that we are all inherently GOOD. On this thought, we support you completely, and we are willing to work hand in hand with you on efforts that will bring about this great reawakening.