The Bud Dajo Event Battle or Massacre PDF

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I. Introduction Back in 1902, the Philippine-American war was put to an end in which most parts of the Philippines fell under the United States of America's military command, however not in some areas in the southern part of the country where the Moro people resided. The first battle of Bud Dajo ignited in 1906 at Bud Dajo in Jolo Island as the Moros declined to let the American army in control which led to almost a thousand deaths including women and children on the side of the Moro population. In this event, the act of savagery and inhumane treatment to the Moros were viewed upon the aftermath. Thus, this controversy created a huge question to the history of the Philippines: Should the Bud Dajo event be considered as a battle or be claimed as a massacre. II. Evidences The Bud Dajo Event as a Battle In the Philippines, there’s a series of scattered campaigns involving American Troops and Muslim bands called Moro Wars. Their actions were unrelated with those Filipino revolutionaries who fight for Philippine-American War, because Moro fought for their religious beliefs rather than political reasons. (Murray, L. n.d.). At that point, when Philippines were colonialized by the United States in 1898. After the warfare, the United States initiated a policy intended to assimilate the Moro into the Philippine nation and to regulate some feudal practices like slave trading. The Commander of US Army which is General Leonard Wood tried and failed to arrest a rebellious Moro leader, named Pala and the recalcitrant of Moros ambushed American troops and took refuge in the Bud Dajo. He commands Colonel Duncan with his troops to assault Bud Dajo. (Combine Arms Center, 2018). Based on the American History website, before the fighting, Governor Wood asked the Moro at Bud Dajo to give up their weapons. When they refused, he then asked them to send their women and children away, so that they may not suffer in the fighting. Again, the Moro refused. Likewise, as stated by Llanes (2016) in his article in Inquirer. Net, three columns of American troops moved up Bud Dajo from different sides and encountered fierce resistance from barricades blocking the approach to the crater. When overwhelmed with

heavy bombardment and sniper fire, the Moros sallied forth into the open with kris and spear. On the second day, in the approach taken by a specific Major Bundy, “200 Mohammedans died here before the quick-firing guns and the rifles of the attackers.” In continuation, He writes: “A large band of Moros fortified Bud Dajo and defied the authorities to subject them to any law. The American garrison at Jolo was reinforced by the addition of two battalions of infantry and preparations were made for a decisive assault on the Moros... As supported by a statement stated by Prof. Michael Charleston ‘Xiao’ Chua (2013) in his show in XIAOTIME, “Americans thought that the fighting spirit of Muslim in their fight was a “Juramentado o pag-aamok. But the fighting spirit of them even employing a “kampilan” aren’t enough to the flying bullet of the rifles of Americans. They are considered as civilian, but were forced to fight for their sake”. Bud Dajo Event as Massacre According to Robert Fulton in 2011 the Battle of Bud Dajo occurred March 5-8, 1906. It set the U.S. Armed force. U.S. Naval force, and also the Philippine Constabulary against 800-1,000 non-conformist Muslims who had fortified the highest point of a tough, 2,175 feet high dormant volcano on the island of Jolo in the southern Philippine Islands. Although it started as a genuine military challenge, it finished as an awful and horrendous, one-sided massacre, without a small Muslims left alive... In connection, "Slaughter is a good word," American author Mark Twain wrote in 1906 to describe the Bud Dajo massacre, after anti-imperialist media outfits in the U.S. published the anecdotes of the successful, at least on the part of the colonial government in the archipelago, military operation... As stated by Llanes (2016), “After the engagement the crater was a shamble. Moros were piled five deeps in the trenches where they had been mowed down by the artillery and rifle fire. The American attack had been supported by two quick-firing guns from the gunboat Pampanga and examination of the dead showed that many of the Moros had as many as 50 wounds. Of the 1,000 moros who opened the battle two days previously, only six men survived the carnage.”

In continuation, Hurley’s judgment of the event is significant. He states: “By no stretch of the imagination could Bud Dajo be termed a ‘battle’. Certainly, the engaging of 1,000 Moros armed with krises, spears and a few rifles by a force of 800 Americans armed with every modern weapon was not a matter for publicity. The American troops stormed a high mountain peak crowned by fortifications to kill 1,000 Moros with a loss to themselves of 21 killed and 73 wounded! The casualty reflects the unequal nature of the battle. The savages were all massacred. The plain intention was to massacre them all and leave none alive. Then where was the use in furnishing mere temporary relief to a person who was presently to be exterminated? The dispatches call this battue a “battle.” In what way was it a battle? It has no resemblance to a battle. In a battle there are always as many as five wounded men to one killed outright. When this so-called battle was over, there were certainly not fewer than two hundred wounded savages lying on the field. What became of them? Since not one savage was left alive. (Clemens, S. (1906). According to Duterte, “The Philippines is not a vassal state, we have long ceased to be a colony of the US...I do not respond to anybody but to the people of the Republic of the Philippines” III. Comparison and Contradiction of the arguments According to the common points viewed upon analyzing the evidences laid for each argument, the eagerness of the US Army to take control over the Moro population significantly led to a bloody fight as the Moro continued their rebellion standing for their religious beliefs against the US Army. The Moro population did not let their freedom be taken away even though the US troops clearly had the upper hand. However, this refusal in surrendering themselves, one way or another, lead to the death of a number of Moros. Many people say that the Bud Dajo event was a battle. The Moros are considered civilian and a group of harmless people yet the need to fight for themselves pushed them to use their weapons against the troop of the US Army. Men fought back in order to defend themselves and their families. On the other hand, there are also numerous people who believe that the said event was a massacre. These people instill that the American Military took advantage of the situation since they all had the weapons, the power and the large number of troops that certainly outnumbered the Moro. The US military knew that the other camp was weak and less capable so they

took advantage of that and continued their inhumane actions to finish off the rival group which are the Moros.

IV. Conclusion The Bud Dajo fight on March 5-8, 1906 was a massacre, packed with all the evidences needed. The researcher concluded that it was a massacre since according to the Ferdinand Llanes, a history professor at the University of the Philippines only 6 out of 1000 of the Moros survived and, in some sources, it was stated that none of the Moros survived at all. For a fight to be considered as a battle each party or side should have an equip army and but what happen in Jolo as stated by Dr. Rene Oliveros, a Moro History and Islamic Studies Professor was not a battle because the Moros are not an army, they are civilians who just wanted to escaped the tax which they believe is contrary to their religious belief; they don’t have cannons and riffles which their opponent has, they fought with their bolos and kitchen knives. The Moros do not want any harm that’s why they fled to the volcano’s crater, but they were forced to fight for their lives when the Americans arrived. V. Relevance and Importance The Bud Dajo battle was never taught in school as if it is bound to just be forgotten. Dr. Rene Oliveros, clarified that this historical slaughter of the Moros were never really discussed in school unless a person will study a course that really deals with Philippine history. The researchers affirmed that the Bud Dajo Event is significant to raise awareness and let the Filipino knows what really happened in that volcano’s crater on March 7, 1906, wherein approximately 600-1000 of our fellow Filipino, the Moros were slaughtered by the Americans. Not as a form of holding grudges towards the Americans but as a way of honoring the Moros, for their bravery of standing for what they really believed in. VII. Implication to the Philippine history Jamalul Kiram II was the Sultan of Jolo during the Bud Dajo Massacre. On August 20, 1899 the Bales-Kiram treaty was signed, this treaty contains the conditional agreement between the Moros and the Americans and it has 15 articles and the first one

and the most controversial is the Article I “The sovereignty of the United States over the whole Archipelago of Jolo, and its dependencies, is declared and acknowledged.” Which is a complete contrary to what the Sultan knows, he assumed that signing the treaty would mean that the land of Sulu and its people are under the protection of the American Government. The Sultan and his Dato was paid monthly which gave the Moros the idea that the Sultan and the Datos already sold their freedom, so the Moros chose to flee and refuse to pay taxes which is not aligned with their religious belief, since they believe that paying taxes is the same as surrendering their God, Allah. VIII. Bibliography American History, (2018-2020), First Battle of Bud Dajo 1906. Retrieved from https://www.american-history.net Combined Arms Center, (27, February 2018). A Volcanic Fight: The Moro Rebellion and the Battle of Bud Dajo (1906). Retrieved from https://usacac.army.mil/node.1954 Llanes, F. (2016, September 18). Remembering Bud Dajo and Bud Bagsak. Retrieved from https://opinion.inquirer.net/97415/remembering-bud-dajo-and-bud-bagsak Chua, M. (2013, March 5). ANG PAGTINDIG SA ALAPAAP (Ang Labanan sa Bud Daho). Retrieved

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https://xiaochua.net/2013/03/06/xiaotime-5-march-2013-ang-

pagtindig-sa-alapaap-ang-labanan-sa-bud-daho/ Twain, M. (1992, July 1). Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire : Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution) 1st Edition. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Mark-TwainsWeapons-Satire-Philippine-American/dp/0815602685 Fulton, R. (2011). Honor for the Flag: The Battle of Bud Dajo - 1906 & the Moro Massacre.

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https://books.google.com.ph/books/about/Honor_for_the_Flag.html? id=asTjwQEACAAJ&redir Manila Standard, (2016, September 10). ‘Massacre in Jolo: US’ extra-judicial killings’. Retrieved from https://manilastandard.net/mobile/article/215744 Clemens, S. (1906, March 12). "Comments on the Moro Massacre”. First published in Mark Twain's Autobiography, ed. Albert Bigelow Paine (New York: Harper and

Brothers, 1924). Reprinted in Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War, ed. Jim Zwick (New York: Syracuse University Press, 1992), pp. 170-73. From the Mark Twain Papers, The Bancroft Library,

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hhtps://www.britannica.com/event/Moro-Wars CNN Philippines. (2020). The Source: The Battle of Bud Dajo. Retrieved 14 October 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri79O5-LhC4&feature=share Ancient Magostribe. (2019). Filipino Muslims (Year 2019) Pinagkakatay dahil ayaw magpasakop sa mga Dayuhang Mananakop?. Retrieved 14 October 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86BKYPhbMu8 Madge, K. (2020). Philippine History -- The Bates Treaty of 1899 -- Aug 20, 1899. Retrieved 16 October 2020, from https://filipino.biz.ph/history/ba990820.html...