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Republic of the Philippines

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Noe”

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Eighteenth Congress
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No,__ 7900

Introduced by Representative AMIHILDA J. SANGCOPAN of Anak
Mindanao (AMIN) Party-List

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to declare March 18 of every year as the Bangsamoro Day
in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to commemorate
the Jabidah Massacre.

Before the massacre of young Bangsamoro men in the Island of Corregidor
on March 18, 1968, Jabidah was nothing but a name of a beautiful woman of a
Muslim lore.

The Jabidah Massacre first came to public attention on March 18, 1968
when two fishermen rescued a man named Jibin Arula from the waters just off
Caballo Island in Manila Bay. He had gunshot wounds and he recounted that he
was the lone survivor of the killing of a group of Muslim army recruits by
armed personnel. The gist of the narrative recounted that the trainees refused to
continue their training for Oplan Jabidah and demanded to be returned home.
That particular batch of recruits were disarmed, a number were sent home and
some others were transferred to a regular military camp in Luzon. Another
batch of recruits were killed by armed personnel, with only one survivor, Jibin
Arula, managing to escape.


Until now, there are some interpretations that the fateful event never took
place. In spite of the disputes about the facts of the massacre, historians agree
that the Jabidah Massacre was one of the most important flashpoints that ignited
the Muslim insurgency in the Philippines. The massacre significantly brought
Muslim intellectuals, who, prior to the incident had no discernible interest in
politics, into the political scene.

In recent years, the landscape of Corregidor has learned to tell the story of
the massacre.

In 2015, a marker for the “Mindanao Garden of Peace” was installed by
the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), affirming that
the island “served as a camp for training Moro youth as a secret group led by
the Philippine Army.” The marker represented a moment of triumph in the
Bangsamoro struggle against centuries of historical injustice in the Philippines.

A few steps away from the NHCP marker is a smaller one, installed seven
years earlier. The Jabidah marker, signed by then Anak Mindanao
Representative Mujiv Hataman, is “dedicated 10 the Moro youth who were
killed” in the massacre that “sparked the Bangsamoro struggle for national self:
determination.”

This year marks the 52" anniversary of the infamous Jabidah Massacre.
The declaration of March 18 as Bangsamoro Day will give the Bangsamoro
people a chance to revisit the struggles of their forbears as they move towards
the dream of being recognized as a unified political unit existing harmoniously
with the lumads and even the migrant settlers.

The commemoration of the Jabidah Massacre will capture and integrate in
the history of the Bangsamoro people the turbulent days that unified the Muslim
ethnic groups towards the fulfillment of their aspiration as an empowered and
self-directed people.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

HON A |. SANGCOPAN

Ahak Mindanao (AMIN) Party-List


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Eighteenth Congress
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. goed

Introduced by Representative AMIHILDA J. SANGCOPAN of Anak
Mindanao (AMIN) Party-List

AN ACT
DECLARING MARCH 18 OF EVERY YEAR AS THE BANGSAMORO
DAY IN THE BANGSAMORO AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM
MINDANAO TO COMMEMORATE THE JABIDAH MASSACRE

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. March 18 of every year is hereby declared as the official
Bangsamoro Day in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(BARMM) to commemorate the Jabida Massacre which happened on March 18,
1968.

SEC. 2. The regional government of the BARMM shall, in coordination
with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Department of

Education, and the Commission on Higher Education, lead in the


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implementation of appropriate and meaningful commemorative programs and
activities in the celebration of the Bangsamoro Day. The celebration shall be
participated in by the officials and employees of the regional, provincial and
municipal governments of the BARMM, the civic, religious, nongovernment,
business and civil society organizations, and the students in order to deepen the
understanding of the significance of the Bangsamoro Day and instill a sense of
pride towards the enrichment of the history of the Bangsamoro people.

SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,