Moros are muslims

First and foremost it must be clarified that MOROS are MUSLIMS. MOROS are the followers of the religion of Islam and are not automatically indigenous people. The people of Sulu, Mindanao and Palawan are not all Moros. The MOROS only comprise of less than 25% of the population of Sulu, Mindanao, and Palawan. The first Moro arrived in the archipelago in 1380. Prior to 1380 the indigenous people did not even know who or what Moros were. They called themselves by their tribal names. When the Spaniards arrived in 1521, to their surprise they were confronted by Muslims who they referred to as Moros. That's when the term Moro in the Philippines started. So it is absolutely incorrect and a propaganda (big lie) for Muslims to call all the people of Mindanao (including non-muslims) as Moros. Christians are not Moros. Moros are Muslims.

What is Bangsamoro? Bangsa = Nation; Moro = Muslim; Bangsamoro = Nation of Muslim or Muslim Nation.

The BBL immediately makes an assumption that all the ancestral lands of the sulu archipelago, Mindanao and palawan all belong to the Muslims(Moros). They made this assumption and they have the legislature fooled.

According to the Bangsamoro, this is the reason why the Bangsamoro organization exists:

Article II section 1 of the BBL defines the bangsamoro people as:"Those who at the time of conquest and colonization were considered natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago and its adjacent islands including Palawan, and their descendants, whether of mixed or of full blood, shall have the right to identify themselves as Bangsamoro by ascription or self-ascription. Spouses and their descendants are classified as Bangsamoro."

Then Article II section 2 of the BBL talks a little about the indigenous people: "Freedom of Choice. – The freedom of choice of other indigenous peoples shall be respected."

The Moros preach LIES, they are afraid of the facts, they no longer accept the facts of history because the truth will bring a revolution. A revolution they will not win.

How can the bangsamoro be the original inhabitants when the moros(muslims) arrived in the archipelago only in the 14th century?!

Let me inform you folks. The "natives or original inhabitants" at the time of conquest and colonization were not the bangsamoro people. The original inhabitants were the indigenous people who practiced several forms of worship and one of them just happened to be Islam. Muslims (Bangsamoro) are not indigenous people. They are the followers of the religion of Islam.

Before the introduction of any religion or ideology into the Philippines, the indigenous people already had their own languages, traditions, beliefs and practices. These new introductions or additions of religions and beliefs simply became part of the established original.

The archipelago was divided into ruling tribes with Datus as their chieftains. Commerce was vibrant. Commerce attracted the Muslim(Moro) traders to the Sulu archipelago. They did not come for the sake of religion, they came because they wanted to make money. They traded with the tribes of the Philippines.

All throughout the archipelago a vibrant society was already established by the indigenous tribes.

The earliest historical writings claims that the fist arrival of Islam was in the Sulu archipelago in 1380 (14th Century). The conversion of the natives into Islam was gradual. The early Muslim(Moro) missionaries had the opportunity to gather the tribes under one religion, the religion of Islam. There were other religions but they were not entrenched in politics and governance as Islam was. Islam provided an ideology, a way of life and a form of governance which other religions in the area did not provide.

So as Islam gained its spread starting from the south to the north, they met no resistance for over 140 years. Islam enjoyed and prospered in the spread of its religion and its governance by practicing the law of the Qur'an and attaching the title of Sultan to the highest ruler of an area. The sultan (arabic in origin) became a higher position of leadership than the native tribal Datu (tribal chieftain Philippine origin).

The Datus were already in place as chieftains of tribes before Islam set foot in the Philippines. The earliest history tells the story of a Datu Dinagandan who was a chieftain of Aklan in the island of Panay during the 12th century. Way before the recorded arrival of Islam (year 1380) in the Philippines. These tribes were the ancestors of the current INDIGENOUS peoples of the Philippines. These tribes existed with their own autonomy before the Muslims(Moros) converted them into the religion of Islam.

To this date these indigenous peoples still wear their traditional garb mistaken for Muslim(Moros) attire. Many of the tribal traditions were assimilated by the Muslims(Moros) who now inaccurately call it as Muslim(Moro) originated.

Then when the Spaniards arrived in the archipelago in 1521 and brought Christianity with it, Islam confronted competition in the archipelago for the first time. From that moment on Islam no longer had monopoly in the Philippines. This gave the indigenous tribes in the Philippines the opportunity to choose to be Christians, Muslims(Moros), or neither of the two.

Currently many Educated Filipinos make the mistake of dis-associating the words Moro and Muslim. The two words are one and the same. Moro is a direct translation for Muslim. Because most Filipino scholars believe that MOROS are not Muslims, they claim that the moros are indigenous people. Prior to 1380 there were no Moros(muslims) around only indigenous people. Yet a Moro won't embrace any other religion because the Moro is the follower of Islam. You do not call a Catholic, Moro.

The Muslims(Moros) claim that they deserve their own state because they are an indigenous people. WRONG! Muslims(Moros) are the followers of Islam. Muslims are not indigenous people, neither is it an ethnicity. If a tribe converts to Islam and all the members of that tribe become Muslims(Moros), it does not make the Muslims(Moros) indigenous, it only makes the indigenous people in that tribe Muslims(Moros). Then of course the biggest lie is the claim of the bangsamoro to be the original inhabitants of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.

This push by the Muslims(Moros) for a state of their own is not just from the Muslims within the Philippines. Other Islamic countries are involved. The country that stands out in full support of the Muslims in the Philippines is the country of Malaysia. They have been involved since 2007 with the former president Arroyo.

The religion of Islam should be treated just like any other religions in the Philippines. The Philippines should uphold the "separation of church and state as it is stated in the constitution. The government should not financially support any religion. Giving the bangsamoro a state of its own is a violation of the constitution. It is financially supporting the religion of Islam.

The Philippine Government is religiously biased. To defeat the BBL or Bangsamoro once and for all, legislature must be convinced that the Bangsamoro people were not the original "natives or inhabitants" of the entire Philippine archipelago or the sulu archipelago, mindanao or palwawan for that matter.

To reiterate: The indigenous people were the original "natives or inhabitants" and not the Bangsamoro. The bangsamoro (nation of muslims) people are not indigenous people.

1. Muslims(Moros) are the followers of Islam
2. Moros are Muslims.
3. Bangsamoro is Nation of Muslims
4. Bangsamoro Lied when it claimed that they were the original inhabitants of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. The moros(muslims) arrived only in the year 1380.
5. A moro or muslim may be an indigenous person (tausug or other indigenous people) but just by being a muslim or moro does not make anyone indigenous.
6. Anybody can be a moro or a muslim but not anybody can be an indigenous person.
7. The indigenous people were the original inhabitants and just because some of them converted to Islam does not make the Muslims, Moros or Bangsamoro the original inhabitants of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan.