Mulings about Bud Uwak

Bud Uwak literally means Crow Mountain though it is neither a mountain nor a place where one hears the raucous crows crowing, cawing or squawking. It might as well have been a place of counting crows before the time of Martial Law when several villages of Jolo were declared a no man's land whereby Tausug Men were summarily executed. 

Mango Farming in Jolo

Yes you heard it right.People from Jolo actually do other things than kidnapping.

This is probably an attempt - sort of an anti-media attempt - to present Jolo as a place where real people live, who yearns for peace and order to come back so that they can exploit the rich natural resouces that Sulu has to offer.

There are a lot of reasons why people in Jolo should return to farming. But, there are also a lot of reasons why they do not or can not.

Sulu is part of chain of Islands that is volcanic in origin and as such, the soil is fertile for farming. Additionally, it is out of the tropical cyclones (typhoons) areas that usually hit the Philippines.

Farming and fishing are the main livelihood activities although fishing is predominant because the Sulu Sea is one of the richest fishing grounds in the country.

However, there are vast tract of lands that remain undeveloped to produce varieties of agricultural products due to several reasons. Many people are afraid of cultivating the land because of the peace and order situation. Many a times, successful individuals may receive ‘love letters’ – a sarcastic term that refers to the letters sent by gangs to solicit for money. Rejection of  such may lead to harassment and threats of kidnapping and even death. More often than not, military operations against rebels and bandits make it unsustainable for farmers to invest in new agricultural ventures. Mostly, farmers just harvest what is already planted like coconuts or invest in plants that requires shorter time to plant and harvest such as sweet potatoes and others.

So instead of cows and goats being herd by farmers to populate the agricultural land,  wild boars multiply and roam about which makes the armies stationed in those areas happy, as it would make for a less fat and exotic meal.

Further, people have less access to modern technologies in agricultural practice. In contrast to other places in ARMM, I cannot even find a contact number for the office of Department of Agriculture in the Island. There is a great deal of poverty of information and this prevents people from diversifying their produce. For instance, Abaca and coconut have been the main crop produce of the island but the rest of Mindanao have already diversified to other more lucrative produce such as palm oil, cacao and mango.

Years ago, when my father was still an OFW, he dreamt of a mango farm in his native place Bud Uwak, a hill located just within the boundaries of Jolo and Patikul. Thus he instructed relatives to plant mango seedlings in the few hectares of his land.

Thus here we are now, a few weeks time from the first harvest. God Willing.

What do I remember about Jabidah massacre?

How do I remember thee? Let me count the ways.


I remember my Inna, our grand aunt, (may Allah have mercy on her) used to scare us to sleep by saying "naa yan na in mawis" (the Maoist [rebels] are coming).




I remember Mimi used to recount her close encounter with the labud kind (millipedes) during their 'escape' from fighting between the rebels and the army: How she would shriek loudly much to my father's bewilderment for his new bride.




I remember an old picture of my grand father Ustadh Ghalib Jundam shaking hand with then president Marcos because of his effort for peace.




I remember my father used to tell us the story how the army massacred innocent civilians during a wedding including her sister babu Rahma who perished with her husband. This was supposedly a revenge act of the army when general Bautista was ambushed days previously.




I remember my aunts Inah Nanah and Inah Illang telling us that their husbands, including other men, were asked to step out from public transports at check points and that they haven't seen them again until this very day.


I remember Amah Papi (Dad's father) used to have hectares and hectares of farmed land including coconuts that were burned down by the army thinking that the rebels may hide in them. That before the war he would have so much produce he had to export lanzones and other exotic fruits out from Jolo to mainland Mindanao.




I remember our elders talk about the' burning of jolo', how horrible it was.


I remember migrating to Manila at a tender age of ten and being nauseated with jeepney's fumes so that Dad had to rent a Calesa to bring me back home from school.




I remember how my classmates in Saint Rita College asked me on the first day of school : How many have I killed already?




  I remember SPCPD during my college days when Nur Misuari and President Ramos shared nomination for a peace prize.




I remember Ustadh Hashim Salamat.


I remember I used to write under  pseudonyms 'Meem Aliph' and 'albangsamori'




I remember the Mamasapano incident and how senator AP Cayetano grilled Mohagher Iqbal, a man entrusted with peace by a large section of Bangsamoro people.




Truth is I wasn't around when Jabidah happened. It was after full seven years and seven months less one day that I was born. But its effect shaped my memory of my self, my family, my people.




Truth is my cousins were orphaned after the Jabidah massacre when Muslims organized themselves to fight back. Orphaned not because their fathers joined the rebels but because they were just randomly chosen as potential rebels. My aunts until now are silently mourning. Widowed forty seven years before the widows of SAF 44 mourned.




Truth is my grand father haven't recovered financially after the war. How until now, the orphans made by the aftermath of Jabidah, my cousins and even some of their children are working as domestic helpers exposed to potential abused by their employers.




Truth is we Muslims are still suffering from discrimination. That the dream of many Bangsamoro generations of peace in my home land are just like a play thing in the hands of lawmakers headed by an irate senator who seemed to believe he is fighting a crusade against the moors of old.




Fact is Philippines hasn't harnessed its full economic potential to develop Mindanao and its vast resources because of instability in the region.




I remember Jabidah massacre at this very moment because in front of me is an empty bottle of soft drink. Particularly the fact that I don't have to pay for its deposit. Ahh I'm not in the Philippines where I have to pay for its deposit. I'm an OFW because my resource rich homeland cannot sustain me and my family. It reminds me that I am separated from my parents. It reminds me of Jabidah massacre.   

Shifting Narrative of #Fallen44: From Marwan's Finger to Crying Generals

February 10, 2015

After today's emotional plea by PNP's Espina, the narrative of #Fallen44 has been shifted from 'why were they there in the first place?' to 'how gruesome the killing was?'.

This shift is very strategic: hitting multiple birds with one stone.

On one hand, it drowns the difference between the leadership of AFP and PNP concerning whether the MILF did coddle Marwan or not. This is a very important if not the most important issue. Because if indeed Marwan was not in Mamapasano this would render this whole BBL-suspending, nationwide mourning, nation-dividing, senate-hearing soap-like unfolding drama , a catastrophic blunder of PNP. Add this the high number of casualty and  to the fact that this high-risk operation was not coordinated with the MILF despite the peace agreement contract, then one can easily imagine that this is blunder upon blunder upon blunder. The agreement stipulates that there is no exception in coordinating law enforcement operations even for high-value targets according to OPAPP.

On the other hand, one issue that's not even being mentioned, except as a side issue to be discussed only as an executive privilege is the role of the USA in the OPLAN: Exodus operation. Is this a part of the US government JSOC operation? Or part of the Dirty Wars or Blackwater (now known as Academi) bounty hunting operation exposed by the award winning journalist, Jeremy Scahill? According to a report, several american planned the operation in a beach resort in Zamboanga City  to neutralize Marwan . As far as government is concerned these entities don't exist although they could have hundreds of covert operations, in multiple continents around the world. In essence, their bounty-hunting missions are targeted killings of high value targets that may at times lead to disasters killing innocent civilians in the process. Due to their covert nature, their missions are not acknowledged publicly and their failures are covered up.

Exposing this alternate narrative is important because the Filipino masses, the voters, and the king makers are still bellowing in the post 911 global anti-terror mindset. Global war on Terror - as defined by both Bushes the father and the son are not accepted anymore. To limit the Bush Doctrine (attacking countries with terrorists and preemptive strikes) , Obama continued a targeted killing strategy such as drone strikes and special operations. The Obama administrate just contracted Academi-Blackwater to provide services for the CIA for 250 million dollars.

There are many questions left unanswered related to Mamapasano clash:

How many times Marwan has to die? Just like the death of Bin Laden, we just have to accept he is dead because the authorities said so, Although unlikely if he turns alive again somewhere, it may turn out that Marwan only left us his middle finger.

Thus the issue of justice and accountability that the Filipino people clamor may end in two directions. Firstly, with the PNP. Senator Meriam could be so justified in blaming solely Purisima and the PNP as a whole. Or it may go even beyond Pnoy and the Philippines and may even reach Obama himself where the buck stop.  Then it started with the US and ends with the US.  

In the meantime, the nation's mood is undulating between the borders of Islamophobia and soap opera like drama in the Senate Hearing. The BBL hearing has been indefinitely stalled.

Now I can understand why a seasoned, battle-hardened police general could cry like Judy Ann Santos in her Mara Clara days. And yes back to status quo.

Today History Happened: Bangsamoro United for Peace

Watching politicians in the Senate Hearing grilling those who were involved in one way or another in the Bangsamoro peace agreement and Mamapasano clash, gives a feeling of not only of nausea but also of despair.

Judging from the words and tone of politicians like Cayetano or Marcos, and add to that the withdrawal of support of many law makers for the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and even more, adding insult to the injury - that this process is actually 17 years in the making - one can really say that the peace process, the BBL is at its lowest point.

But as  the famous saying goes "that once at the bottom, there is no way but to go up".

Indeed all the negative emotions that came from the nationally televised senate hearing on the Mamasapano clash must have had ignited something. For the first time in the Philippines' recent history, ten cities, nine in Mindanao and one in Luzon, Muslims, Lumads and Christians were united to support peace - to support BBL.

This is, by all means, a historic day. When was the last time that Muslims all over Philippines united for a single cause? Amidst all the division, tribal, political even sectarian, they came out and marched and raised their voice. They want peace.

There is indication that this is only the beginning. That the anti-BBL may have unwittingly awaken a sleeping dragon - ten million strong. With their brothers Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa already underwent their own Arab Spring - Can this be a start of the Bangsamoro Spring, the Bangsamoro Awakening?

If this is the case - the politicians, especially those who are ambitiously pandering to the anger of the misled Filipino massess, should take into account that they have awaken something in the hearts of the Bangsamoro. Like the story of an oppressive king who eventually killed the boy in the story found in Soorah Al Burooj (Quran 85) , thinking that by killing the boy he will win. The people eventually realized that the boy was right - that only Allah has the power over all things.

Photo source: www.interaksyon.com