Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing, the last military governor of the Moro Province (1909-1913), in his book Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, reflected on the relations between the Filipinos and the Moros. According to Pershing:
“Although they have lived as neighbors, they have never mingled and know practically nothing of each other. It is a rare thing to meet a Filipino who speaks Moro or vice versa.
The Filipino regards the Moro as a barbarian or a savage, while the Moro thinks of the Filipino as inferior, fit only to be his slave. They are in no sense brothers but are irreconcilable strangers and enemies in every sense.
The actual relations are such that any attempt at Filipino government would only lead to rebellion and disaster.“
That was in 1913, almost a hundred years ago.
Have times and circumstances changed?
Do the Filipinos now know more of the Moros and the Moros of the Filipinos? Do the Filipinos still consider the Moros barbarians? Do the Moros still think of the Filipinos as inferior, fit to be his slave? Are they now “friends” and “neighbors”? Or do they continue to be “irreconcilable strangers and enemies in every sense”? Is peace in our future? Or, as Pershing said, rebellion and disaster will be our eternal fate?