Munich Personal RePEc Archive Magison-ison: A Parallel Reality Construction of War among Joloano Muslim Survivors in Sulu, Philippines Usman-Laput, Lea University of the Philippines-Diliman October 2005 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/35731/ MPRA Paper No. 35731, posted 05 Jan 2012 01:47 UTC Magison-ison: A Parallel Reality Construction of War among Joloano Muslim Survivors in Sulu, Philippines A Dissertation submitted by LEA USMAN-LAPUT, Ph.D. to the College of Mass Communication University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City Republic of the Philippines In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication October 2005 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The completion of this undertaking would not have been realized without the untiring support and guidance of my adviser Dr. Aleli A. Quirante whose expertise provided me with the momentum to turn into a concrete project what I thought at first to be an impossible task. My appreciation likewise extends to my critic-reader Dr. Florinda A. Mateo for the valuable suggestions that have immensely enriched this study and the time I was afforded generously for consultations. I am grateful to the Western Mindanao State University one of the leading academic institutions in Region IX for its assistance through the Faculty Development Program of which I was a recipient. It would be noteworthy for me to acknowledge at this point the support of Dr. Eldgario D. Gonzales, WMSU President whose pro-active visions for the faculty essentially made this opportunity possible. Vital to this achievement furthermore was the magnanimous assistance shown by the local officials of Jolo particularly Vice Mayor Alkramer R. Izquierdo in mobilizing community involvement through the LGUs and NGOs. I am indebted particularly to the key informants of the study whose commitment to this endeavor brought forth its fulfillment. The Divine Almighty and my family provided me with the spiritual and material strength to carry on thus I bestow upon them my utmost gratitude. PREFACE MAGISON Universal wars create a void amidst angst and sufferings articulated in various contexts. True enough conflicts are viewed from different frames. And the Mindanao war is not an exemption as this conflict is often seen from two major standpoints, from that of a Filipino Christian or a Filipino Muslim. Confronted by such a predicament however, people from all walks of life albeit ethnicity, regional orientation, beliefs and government will speak the same language. A language of the soul bound by a common ground and embroiled by realities only war survivors can decipher. Thus my reality of the 1974 hostilities in Jolo is no different from that of a war survivor from Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Vietnam in the 1950‟s. From a constructionist perspective, I collected meaningful interpretations of the event in the course of “deconstructing” and “reconstructing” the Joloanos‟ multiple war realities. The lens from which I saw the “conflict” in my hometown were jaded by my own personal judgement. Similarly my co-survivors have their psychological traumas and norms prompted by their own (subjective and objective) realities that made them see the conflict for what it was. Coming from the two dominant views, I applied a self-reflexive strategy to look into “our” war realities and the role of communication in the Mindanao conflict. This has given me leeway to uncover layers of truths about the 1974 siege in Jolo, Sulu as I and my co-authors across age have experienced in the wake of the Marcos‟ Martial Law era. Magison-ison in the Tausog dialect evokes of a casual yet pleasant conversation the local folks are commonly engage in while at the “tabu” (marketplace) and in the “kaddai” (cofeeshop) to slowly occupy time. The term speaks of the methodology applied in the study. It is suggestive of a poignant heart-warming ambiance spawned among the Joloanos while they converge in a dialogue. The simplicity of this occasion transcends all realities of the Mindanao war as Filipino Christians and Muslims connect in a breathtaking sense of oneness even just for a spell. ABSTRACT The Mindanao conflict in Southern Philippines is a long-standing controversy that has eluded comprehensive solutions. Despite efforts of the Government of the Philippines (GRP) and the representatives from the peoples of Mindanao in undertaking peace initiatives, “the war:” continues. The establishment of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as embodied in an organic law provided in the 1986 Philippine Constitution has not seemed to bring about the much-anticipated progress. Even with the so-called “autonomy” already in place to substantiate the clamor of the Muslims for self-rule in the Tripoli Agreement, conflict has escalated signifying unrest among the people. Instead of dealing with the problem from the standpoint of an “outsider” who may know about the Mindanao conflict from what they hear, the study attempted to get a glimpse of “the war” from the “insiders” who have survived and lived to tell their own stories. From the perspectives of two distinct peoples of Sulu- the Christian and Muslim Joloanos, the study was able to penetrate the heart of conflict in Mindanao. The study was able to visualize “the 1974 war” and the on-going conflicts from two cultural lenses and in the process was able to demonstrate a “parallel reality construction” among the war survivors who provided interesting insights of “the war” from their “fantasy themes”. The research has not only surfaced conflicting notions in their revelations of “the war” as experienced (subjective realities) but has generated elements of “convergence” as their experiences were correlated with the institutionalized beliefs of war (objective realities) or the war as told. Despite distinct subjective realities, they have shown proclivity towards parallel perceptions. The Joloano war survivors‟ subjective realities as applied in the study include their psycho-social trauma of the war and their portrayal of the role of “the other” culture as co- survivors of war. Among the elderly, descriptions of their fears and negative emotions have strongly echoed “old prejudices”. Among the middle-aged, “prudence” and tact in their narratives revealed a tendency to rationalize and to show sympathy towards “the other” culture. From the young war survivors a propensity towards confronting their dilemma suggested optimism and resilience in their perceptions. Transitions in the subjective realities of the war survivors are apparent across culture and age. Opposing views are very strong among the elderly except for one Christian and a Muslim who are associated with “the other” culture by reason of marriage with them. The older Christian Joloanos for instance believe that the war was “unnecessary” while the older Muslims were convinced it was “inevitable”. The study has strongly shown that “shifts” in perceptions could be anchored on the participants‟ religious beliefs and changing circumstances that come with age, political set-up, economic climate and inter-marriage among others. Their reactions towards the prevailing issues of war (media war issues, other concepts and beliefs of war) which constitute the institutionalized-objective realities as defined in the study are “convergent” despite distinct experiences and personal circumstances. They have for example generally shown disagreement towards the commonly held concept that the mass media function to crystallize relevant issues, like the war in Mindanao. The majority of the co- authors furthermore negated the belief of the general public that “Christians and Muslims can never co-exist peacefully, and that the 1974 war was a form of “jihad” or a religious war among Muslims. In the study therefore, communication has been proven once again to play a vital role in clarifying issues of the Mindanao conflict. It performed an emancipatory role in ways that provided rhetorical and psychological relief by allowing an occasion for war survivors to deconstruct their realities through their narratives. And to reconstruct their meaning of war by actively taking part in correcting prevailing notions of war to bring about the much needed change in a war-torn community like Sulu. Table of Contents Page Chapter One Introduction I. Background of the Study Looking at Global wars from a Constructionist Perspective 1 Reconstructing Conflict Mindanao at the Grassroots 3 II. Significance of the Study 5 III. Scope and Delimitation of the Study 6 IV. Problem and Objectives 8 Chapter Two Review of Related Literature I. On Issues of Mindanao Conflict The Socio-economic Dimension 11 State Initiatives on War Programs 14 The Role of Communication in Conflict 16 II. Refelxive Methodology 18 III. Synthesis 20 Chapter Three Study Framework I. Theoretical Framework 22 Social Construction of Reality 23 Emancipatory Communication Theory 28 Symbolic Convergence Theory 31 II. Conceptual Framework 34 IV. Definition of Terms 43 Chapter Four Methods and Procedure I. Design and Method 45 Concepts and Indicators 47 Self-reflexivity in Co-authoring Realities 49 Situating the Researcher in the Study Composition and Selection of Co-authors 50 Instrument 52 Transcription of FGDs and FIs 53 Magison-ison Data Construction process 53 Fantasy Theme Analysis 56 Reflexive Elaboration 57 Methodological Limitations 58 Chapter Five Findings and Discussion 59 I. The Walled Town of Jolo 60 Early Beginnings 61 The Iberian Presence 62 The American Policy of Attraction 63 Table of Contents (continued) The Commonwealth and the Republican Era 65 The Martial Law Regime 66 Present Day Sulu II. Sifting Through the Multiple Realities of War My Story of the War: the link to the Past 69 Unfolding our Stories of War 71 III.The Subjective Realities I. The Psycho-social Impact of War The Elderly co-authors 76 The Middle-aged co-authors 81 The Young Adult co-authors 87 II. Perceived Images of “the other” Culture The Elderly co-authors 94 The Middle-aged co-authors 101 The Young Adult co-authors 106 IV.The Objective Realities 111 I.