BARMM remembers Jabidah massacre as trigger of Bangsamoro revolution

The killing of Moro trainees in Corregidor Island 54 years ago started the Bangsamoro struggle which led to the creation of autonomous entities in Muslim Mindanao.

Thus, said Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Chief Minister Ahod on the occasion of the anniversary of the Jabidah massacre that transpired on March 18, 1968.

“The Jabidah narrative would become the seeds of the modern Bangsamoro struggle,” Ebrahim said.

“We hope that we can honor the lives lost on that fateful day along with other countless Moro lives lost for this cause through the establishment of the BARMM,” he added.

Ebrahim said the tragedy—the massacre of several Moro fighters from Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi in Corregidor—served as the trigger of the Moro revolution in Mindanao during the Marcos administration in 1968. 

The massacre was seen to have caused the formation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and, subsequently, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“This incident would not only expose the realities of covert military operations but would go on to set the fire of what would become a unified Bangsamoro consciousness,” the Chief Minister said.

“The commemoration of the Jabidah Massacre is a form of recognition of the despair experienced by the Bangsamoro. It is an initiative towards healing the past, reconciliation, and unity of all the people in the country,” he added.

Public Order Minister Hussein Muñoz, on the other hand, said the commemoration is a form of transitional justice mechanism aiming to revitalize the memories of the Jabidah massacre.

“We will take its lessons to a new and different facet of promising stories of peacebuilding and socio-economic development to Bangsamoro so the tragic losses from the pasts will never happen again. This is our commitment towards justice and reconciliation,” Muñoz said.

“We can strengthen BARMM through the lessons of the past and the promises of the future,” he added.