By PMT Desk

ILIGAN CITY, October 21, 2024 — Fifty-two years ago, today, hundreds of young Maranao attacked the then Camp Keithley (now Camp Amai Pakpak) in Marawi City where the former Philippine Constabulary (PC) was based. At the same time, they also took over the Mindanao State University campus, and broadcast calls for support in their quest to separate Mindanao from the rest of the Philippines.

The attackers, who called themselves “Iklas,” declared Muslim independence and managed to overwhelm local police forces. The situation escalated quickly, with the rebels holding key positions in the city and engaging in fierce battles with government forces. The uprising lasted for about three days, with the arrival of then Brigadier General Fidel V. Ramos playing a crucial role in breaking the impasse.

The 1972 Marawi Uprising highlighted the deep-seated grievances and aspirations of the Moro people, and it remains a poignant chapter in the history of the region.

The young warriors launched simultaneous attacks on government posts and facilities elsewhere hoping to generate public sympathy and possible actions against the Marcos dictatorship widely accused of persecutions if not genocide versus the Muslims in the Philippines. Such hopes did not materialize as the uprising did not hold long and defused in just a few days.

This incident is the first violent defiance to the proclamation of Martial Law. It happened barely a month after Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. declared the first Martial Law in the Philippines on September 21, 1972. (The second Martial Law was declared by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on May 24, 2017, a day after a group of Muslim militants or terrorists laid siege on Marawi City.)

To some local political families, the attacks popularly known as “The 1972 Marawi Uprising,” was orchestrated to put them down. They accused as behind it their adversaries mostly local elites who, they said, feared to fall out of place from the new society and hoped to gain compromise or be saved through the uprising.

To the young warriors, however, what they did was a Jihad fii Sabiilillaah (Struggle for the way of Allah). There was no promise of government posts nor wealth nor any worldly returns. They only did that for the sake of Allah and for their people and their homeland to be liberated from what is widely perceived as persecutions.

Young as they were, the warriors were allowed by their parents to join the jihad because of their strong belief in God’s Commandment to fight against oppression and persecution. At that time, there was a widespread belief the Muslims in this part of the world were persecuted by the government.

Today, the 1972 Marawi Uprising landed in the archive of history. Whether it was a right thing or not, whether it was indeed politically inspired for selfish interest, still it has served a great lesson to us in our aspiration for self-determination as a people.

In his short treatise, Datu Meno D. Manabilang, the militant leader of Ikhlas Revolutionary Group which led the unrest, said the Marawi Uprising has resulted to the government’s creation of several offices, agencies, and livelihood programs and projects for the Muslim Filipinos which they are benefitting until now.

In other words, “The 1972 Marawi Uprising” has contributed to circumstances that have shaped the evolution of the condition of the Muslims from then on to the present.

The present Bangsamoro Autonomous Governance is a manifestation that the struggle of our forebears has gained impetus.

The significant differences between the 1972 Marawi Uprising and the 2017 Marawi Siege is that the Uprising was not denounced by the Maranao majority, while the Siege was condemned by the populace. It was only surprising why the locals were to be blamed of the atrocious siege when they are those whose houses and properties were devastated but the government has yet to rehabilitate them in full.

Whatever happened to that faithful day may have been forgotten by many but it had no doubt planted a seed for the struggle for self determination and freedom.