Since its inception in 1966, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been involved in the development of Mindanao, which accounts for a large slice of ADB operations in the Philippines. As of May 2010, ADB had approved 192 public sector/sovereign loans to the Philippines totaling $11.3 billion. Out of the 184 completed loans, 36 ($815.0 million) were exclusive to Mindanao while 30 ($1.2 billion) had national coverage but with subprojects in Mindanao. Out of the eight active loans, seven ($350 million) have subprojects in Mindanao. This report focuses on ADB's assistance to the Mindanao island group, particularly on how the project interventions may have made a difference in the lives of Mindanaoans.
Southern Mindanao became the battleground of two major rebellions in the 1970s: one sought to create a separate Muslim state, and the other--a communist insurgency--aspired to overthrow the Philippine state. Standard explanations of these rebellions point to the explosive combination of historic ethnic disputes, massive demographic changes accompanying the closure of the frontier, rising class inequalities, the entry of transnational capital, and the militarization of southern Mindanao. While not denying explanatory value to these arguments, this book rejects ethnicity and political economy as the dominant causes. Making Mindanao argues that colonial construction of the state and its subsequent transformation from the colonial to the post colonial period largely shaped Mindanao's political landscape. The book thus focuses on how local power was determined by state formation and how the state's ability to establish its authority was mediated by mutual accommodation between strong men who controlled this frontier zone. It compares Cotabato and Davao to show the process of state formation and the shaping of local power from the American period (1900-1941) to the eye of the declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos (1946-1972).
Gene Denson, a retired college history professor and the author of five historical novels, explores the events of unrest in the Philippines as the United States seeks an empire. Against the background of Jose Rizals execution, an American boy, thrown onto the streets of Manila by his drunken father, is rescued and adopted by a beautiful and lonely young Filipino woman. His years of puberty under the guidance of his adoptive guardian and her own sexual hunger, while training him for the future, collide during the horrors of the bloody Filipino rebellion. Captured, enslaved, and rescued by him, she eludes the rebel pursuit for months in the mountains of Central Luzon, only for the pair to be endangered again by the subsequent Christian-Muslim conflict on the islands of Mindanao and Sulu. Admiral Deweys defeat of the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay, the arrival of the American army, the murders of Generals Bonifacio and Luna, the ensuing insurrection by Filipino nationalists, Funstons capture of Aguinaldo, the Samar massacre, and the valuable combat training gained by the future generals of the AEF for service in France in World War I are depicted in exciting detail. The changing social attitudes toward sex at the turn of the twentieth century are a surprising twist. The changes involving the inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church, the incest among many Japanese families, the power of Chinese Mandarins, the Filipino Bonsok headhunter tribe, and the anti-Imperialist movement in America are intertwined in the Philippine struggle for independence and the American quest for an empire. The ever-increasing love and sexual bonding of the two protagonists survive admirably in this frank and erotic tale of love, adventure, war, and emerging social and moral changes on the eve of the twentieth century. The detailed Christian-Muslim conflict of the Moro War is mirrored today by similar religious conflicts in the Arabian world. Gene Denson elaborates the reasons for Muslim treachery against the protagonists, Jaime James and Pilar Tala. This exciting and fast-moving and sexually vibrant novel is 90 percent true and could serve to help explain current turmoil in the Middle East. Those who forget past history are condemned to repeat it, but love can win.
Tim McClellan was kidnapped for the second time by Moro Separatist on Mindanao Island. His fellow employees tracked his captors through the jungles and commandeered a dhow to deliver a death-dealing explosion on their way to Zamboanga.
Informal and unregulated economic activities remain an important feature of Mindanao's economy. Despite its enduring presence, the informal economy has largely been overlooked in the analysis of Mindanao's conflict dynamics. As a result, little is understood about the informal economy's impact on armed violence, development, and governance. This study, which represents the first attempt to incorporate the informal economy into the broader analysis of the region, argues that one cannot comprehend Mindanao's political and economic challenges, let alone address them, unless these shadow economies are scrutinized further.
During the Second World War, the Japanese took control of the Philippines, driving the United States forces from the islands. While in control the Japanese confiscated and stockpiled immense amounts of gold and other treasures and hid the plunder in caves, vaults, and private homes throughout the Philippines while awaiting shipment to Japan. Most of that treasure never reached Japan. In the sixty-five years since then, many treasure hunters have roamed the islands searching for the bounty. Although some of the riches has been found, the majority still remains hidden throughout the islands. Mindanao Gold is the story of a group of treasure hunters in search of that hidden treasure. The adventure takes two energetic young miners from the safe confines of Elko, Nevada, to the treacherous jungles on the island of Mindanao. Follow them as they attempt to find and retrieve the gold and escape dangerous Muslim bandits. What price will they pay in their quest for the gold?
