Mediating and Consuming Memories of Violence

The Jabidah Massacre in the Philippines

Bibliographic Data

ID9392018
AuthorsKhairudin Aljunied (0000-0003-0186-839X, corresponding author), Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, Rommel A Curaming (0000-0002-5419-9241)
Year2012
Volume44
Issue2
Pages227-250
Publication date2012-05-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-4810 • E-ISSN: 1472-6033
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14672715.2012.672826
OpenAlexW2157410287
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited9

Considered by many as the founding moment of Muslim separatism in Mindanao, the Jabidah massacre, which took place on Corregidor Island, involved the killing of Muslim trainees who were being prepared by the Philippine military in 1967 and 1968 to infiltrate and sabotage neighboring Sabah. This article analyzes the ways by which memories of this iconic event have in the past four decades been recorded, remembered, mythicized, appropriated, or simply consumed for their own purposes by political elites, civil society actors, and ordinary people in the Philippines. Our angle of vision is directed toward what we term “contentious vectors” —news media, novels, films, and blogs—to analyze the processes by which memories are recast. The ways by which the Jabidah massacre is remembered and appropriated reflect the contestations between civil society and the government in the Philippines, as well as the intense rivalry among the political elites both within and between the Christian-elite–dominated Filipino polity and Muslim communities. The struggle to influence the shape of memories of Jabidah is part and parcel of an ongoing struggle to create competing nations-of-intent amidst the persistent tensions between the state and its dissenters. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We wish to acknowledge Dr. Rizal Buendia for useful comments on the early draft of this article. We are also thankful to the anonymous reviewers of Critical Asian Studies for their comments and suggestions for improvements. Notes 1. Elusfa (Romy) Citation2009; Elusfa (Rolivel) Citation2009. 2. We use the term “nations(s)-of-intent” in the manner suggested by Shamsul A.B. to refer to “defined idea of the form of a nation...shared by a number of people who perceive themselves as members of that nation, and who feel that it unites them” (Shamsul Citation1996, 328). 3. Hartman Citation2004, 419. 4. Vargas-Arenas and Obediente Citation2004, 50. 5. Anon. Citation1968a. 6. Salak Citation1968; Anon. Citation1968d. 7. Earlier accounts point to 1969 or 1971 as its founding anniversary. The subsequent move to declare 18 March 1968 as MNLF's founding moment was explained by the alleged need to keep it a secret from the older Muslim leaders whom the younger Muslim activists feared would thwart their move. 8. Examples include the killings in Bud Daho (1906), Bud Bagsak (1911, 1913), Kamlon rebellion (1950s), Manili (1971), Tacub (1971), Malisbong (1974), Patikul (1977), Pata (1981). 9. Interview with authors, Manila, 16 February Citation2010. 10. See, for example, Al Jazeera's feature on Jabidah that appeared in March 2009 in which MILF spokesman reiterated the same view (discussed further below). See “Philippines Marks Massacre Anniversary,” available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fg-d9zIhXE; accessed 25 February 2012. 11. Royal Hashemite Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah official website: royalsulu.com/mnlf%20history. html; accessed 9 February 2011. 12. Majul Citation1973; Muslim Citation1994; McKenna Citation1998; Lucman Citation2000; Kadir Che Man Citation1990; Vitug and Gloria Citation2000 (Crescent); Kreuzer and Werning Citation2007; George Citation1980. 13. Anon. Citation1968b. 14. Yambot and Salak Citation1968; Caparas Citation1968. 15. Anon. Citation1968c. 16. Gloria Citation1986. 17. See, for example, Anon. Citation1986a; Anon. Citation1986b. 18. Casenas Citation1986. 19. Gloria Citation1986, 6. 20. Anon. Citation1989. 21. Vitug and Gloria Citation2000 (Jabidah). 22. Quiijano de Manila was the nom de guerre of Nick Joaquin, one of the most respected journalists and literary figures in Philippine history. 23. Anon. 1968c. 24. Azurin Citation1996. 25. We wish to acknowledge an anonymous reviewer for pointing this out. 26. Barely a month after the event, some Muslim leaders actually thought of making a film about the incident, although nothing ever materialized (Landicho Citation1968). 27. Anon. Citation1986c. 28. Azurin Citation1996. 29. Longboan Citation2009. 30. Pabico Citation2005. 31. Nardi et al. Citation2004, 43–45. 32. Jibrael bin Omar Citation2007. See jibrael.blogspot.com/2007/05/mindanao-conflict.html; accessed 10 February 2010. Because of the temporal nature of blogs, the authors have printed and archived hard copies of Jibrael's postings. 33. Hicken Citation2008, 78. 34. Jibrael bin Omar. 2007. The Mindanao conflict and the Jabidah massacre. Jibrael Angel Blog. 23 May. Available at jibrael.blogspot.com/2007/05/mindanao-conflict.html; accessed 27 February 2012. 35. Azurin Citation1996, 20. 36. In an edited collection of short stories written by Filipino Muslims (Barry Citation2008), for example, none are concerned with the Jabidah massacre. 37. Octaviano Citation2004. 38. Pison Citation2005, 16. 39. Daroy Citation1969, 257–58. 40. Octaviano Citation2004, 6. 43. Ibid., 216. 44. Ibid., 224. 41. There are far too many newspaper articles and congressional proceedings to be cited in full here. Useful samples from this wide collection would be “Camp Massacres Bared,” Manila Times, 19 March 1968; “President Marcos and His Military.” Manila Chronicle, 30 March 1968; “Operation Might? Jabidah? Merdeka?” Philippine Free Press, 6 April 1968. 42. Octaviano Citation2004, 209. 45. Hidalgo-Pantoja Citation2000, 334. 46. McLuhan Citation1964. 47. Cottle Citation2006

Civil society · Elite · Government (linguistics · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Polity · Rivalry · Skepticism · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · State (computer science · Asian Studies and History · Gender Studies · Law · Philippine History and Culture · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

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