THE MUSLIM SECESSIONIST MOVEMENT

Mass outrage over the 1968 Jabidah massacre in Corregidor where several
Muslim military recruits were supposedly executed by their Christian military superiors,
had a galvanizing effect on the various grievances of the Muslims. The indignation over
the perceived low regard for the life of Muslims by the government fueled the
frustrations of people from the whole spectrum of the Filipino Muslim community, giving
birth to the idea of separatism.

Incensed over the Jabidah massacre and disgusted over government's neglect of
the welfare of Muslim Filipinos, Hadji Datu Udtog Matalam, the former governor of
Cotabato province, organized the Muslim Independence Movement and formally launched
it on 1 May 1968. The MEM became the first Muslim organization that publicly broached
the idea of a separate Filipino Muslim nation.

People from various Muslim sectors joined the Movement. Farmers displaced by
Christian settlers saw in the movement an opportunity to get back their lands. Victims
of army and police abuses saw it as an instrument of exacting revenge. To religious
leaders, the movement was a means of building a theocratic Islamic state. Disgruntled
politicians and people who aimed for public office found the movement an excellent
vehicle to launch successful careers. Students and intellectuals were moved by their
social duty while adventurous and impatient youngsters wanted to test their fighting
prowess. Others simply joined because their friends and relatives were in the
movement. Although Matalam was a well-respected leader, he was already an old man
when he organized the MIM. He and the other traditional leaders of the Movement were
too infirm and conservative to fire and energize the Muslims. Failure of the traditional
leaders to exploit the spirit of the movement moved the younger Muslims to take the
cudgel and rally the Muslims into a united and more aggressive force.