BRIDGING THE GAP
Results/effects of Bisaya and Moro encounters in early times
Three preceding column articles dealt with the nature of and motivating factors in the encounters between the Bisaya and the Moro during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines. It would also be interesting to find out the results or effects of the frequent Moro attacks on the Bisaya and the assistance given by the latter to the Spaniards in their futile attempts at subjugating Mindanao and Sulu.
The most serious effect of the Moro depredations would have been the depopulation of the affected communities in the region, either by capture, death or flight of the inhabitants. Young men and women were taken as captives by the Moros and sold into slavery in Mindanao, Sulu, Borneo, Java, Sumatra and Malacca. Material damages would have been less since most houses at that time were made of readily available local materials and could easily be reconstructed.
On the part of the Spanish government officials and priests, the Moro raids were detrimental to effective administrative control. Such raids meant lesser inspection trips by the alcalde-mayor in outlaying areas, and few religious masses by pueblo priests in coastal communities.
Another effect was the interruption of commerce during the 18th century within the areas of Iloilo and between Iloilo and other islands of the archipelago.
Furthermore, Moro attacks became a threat to the rice and fish harvests of the people. Presumably, on the duration of the Moro attacks, the raiders also killed or carried with them domestic animals such as chickens and ducks.
For more lasting results, the Moro attacks brought about the construction of fortresses and defensive works. Fort San Pedro, a fortress guarding the entrance of the port of Iloilo, was built in 1616 primarily to resist Dutch invasion and, secondarily, to protect Iloilo from Moro attacks (Murillo 1749, Buzeta 1851). When the Dutch threat died down, the fort became more associated with defense against the Moros. According to Diaz (1890), Fort San Pedro was the third largest fortress in the archipelago.
"Bantayans" or Moro watchtowers were built along the coastal areas of Panay. In Iloilo, these so-called bantayans stretched as far as Estancia in the northeast and San Joaquin in the west (Buzeta 1851). Their vestiges are still visible in places such as Guimbal, Miag-ao, San Joaquin, Tigbauan, Ajuy, Banate and Estancia. The Baluarte fortifications are defensive works built by the Spaniards through native forced labor at the Molo entrance near the present site of Baluarte. The bell tower of Jaro was built in the early part of the 18th century and "it is more likely that the reason for its construction was partly to serve as watchtower for Moro invasion" (Ledesma 1933).
Aside from the defensive works, another result of the Bisaya-Moro encounters was the transfer of the capital of the province of Iloilo to the town of Iloilo. According the Fernandez (1922), the Dutch and the British attacks on Oton and Arevalo, and the frequent Moro raids from the south prompted the Spaniards to transfer the provincial capital from Arevalo to the town of Iloilo.
The transfer of communities from a lower site in a coastal area to a safe upland place was another result. An example of this was the transfer of the Miag-ao poblacion from an area near the sea, "obus", to a higher ground, "takas". The early site of Estancia, on the other hand, was in Daan Banwa, a hill overlooking the sea which served as strategic protection against Moro attacks.
Another interesting facet of the early Bisaya-Moro contacts is that old folks in the coastal areas of Panay testify that a very popular mode of instilling discipline among children in the past was to threaten them of the Moros. Because of the historical experience of the Bisaya during the Spanish period, there developed a local fear which can be termed as "Morophobia".
One more unheralded but interesting aspect of the fratricidal warfare of the Moros and the Spaniards with their Bisaya allies is the implication of the term "Bisaya". The term when used by the Moro connotes three things: a slave, a "kafir" or infidel, and a landgrabber. Bisaya denoting slave came about because most of those sold as slaves in southern Philippines came from the islands of the Visayas. Kafir because the Christians are unbelievers and do not worship Allah who, according to the Muslims, is the only true God. The concept of a Bisaya as a landgrabber came about since most Christian settlers in Mindanao were from the Visayas.
Through the historical perspective presented in this short article, it can be seen that the Bisaya and Moro labels presented issues brought forward from the Spanish period. As a result, there developed and engrained prejudicial attitudes between these two groups of Filipinos. There is, therefore, a need for them to realize that whatever past implications Bisaya and Moro had were just mere incidents in the course of the subjugation of the Filipino people by the Spaniards. Regardless of their past connotations, it is important to realize that the Bisaya and the Moro represent the Filipino, and the Filipino in them must be strengthened.