DAVAO CITY – The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has declared March 18 a regular non-working holiday to commemorate Day of Shuhada (martyrs).

MORO Islamic Liberation Front fighters and villagers pray inside Camp Rajamuda in Pikit, Cotabato. (Keith Bacongco)

The holiday is in accordance with  Proclamation No. 0006, Series of 2024, issued by the Office of the Chief Minister and Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 39.

According to the Bansamoro government, March 18 marks two pivotal historical events among the Muslims in Mindanao – Dansalan Declaration (March 18, 1935) and the infamous Jabidah Massacre (March 18, 1968). 

The Dansalan Declaration was the formal assertion of the  Bangsamoro leaders in Lanao during the Commonwealth Era before the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and US Congress not to include the Bangsamoro homeland in the Philippines' bid for independence and for the Bangsamoro to instead be granted separate independence by the United States.

The Jabidah Massacre is regarded as one of the most significant events in the history of the Bangsamoro, where an estimated 200 young Tausug and Sama men were massacred in Corregidor Island allegedly upon the order of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.

They were recruited and trained under the secret operation plan known as Operation Merdeka that allegedly aim to  invade and reclaim from Malaysia the disputed territory of Sabah. But the recruits were eventually killed when they learned the real objective of the mission.

The massacre sparked the formation of the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM), the Bangsamoro Liberation Organization (BMLO), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and finally, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

According to a briefer from the Bangsamoro government, Shuhada, meaning "martyrs" in Arabic, reflects the significance of  honoring  fallen and past mujahideen – the brave Moro people who, for centuries, resisted oppression to defend the identity, culture, and faith of the Bangsamoro people.