Keywords
political economy
structural injustice
Muslim Mindanao
Philippines
How to Cite
Abstract
The study examines structural poverty in Muslim Mindanao from the perspectives of Thomas Pogge and Iris Marion Young. It attempts to explain the critical aspect of the region’s economic injustice and power dynamics in terms of how the same has contributed to the deprivation of its people. Three Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted to help explicate the structural nature of the problem of poverty. The study used primary data from the FGD and secondary data from texts for its analysis. The study explains the influence and impact of the shadow or underground economy in the Bangsamoro. Its predatory character defines the political economy of Muslim Mindanao. The influence of political clans and the lack of people empowerment have subjected the Muslim minority in the Philippines to an exploitative type of economic system that has made the region one of the poorest in the country. The paper argues for structural reforms beyond state-centric measures to sustain peace and development in Muslim Mindanao. Changing the power dynamics in the Bangsamoro is necessary if people are to benefit from authentic autonomy.
References
Abinales, P. (2010). Orthodoxy and history in the Muslim-Mindanao narrative. Ateneo de Manila University.
Agoho, K. N., & Teehankee, J. (2023). Politics of ideas and discourses: Understanding the ideational and discursive struggles in the formation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Asia Pacific Social Sciences Review, 23(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.59588/2350-8329.1493
Browne, J. (2024). The untraceability of structural injustice. In J. Browne & M. McKeown (Eds.), What is structural injustice? Oxford University Press.
Carlos, C., Lalata, D., Despi, D., & Carlos, P. (2010). Democratic deficits in the Philippines: What is to be done? Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. https://tinyurl.com/56bk4jh7
Collste, G. (2015). Global rectificatory justice. Palgrave-Macmillan.
Deinla, I., & Engelbrecht, G. (2019). A new dawn for Bangsamoro democracy? Political economy and inclusive participation in post-conflict Mindanao. Observatoire Asie Du Sud Est. Asia Center.
Ferrer, M. (2015). Forging a peace settlement for the Bangsamoro. In P. Hotchcroft (Ed.), Mindanao: The long road to peace and prosperity. Anvil.
Gaspar, K. (2020). Extractive industries. In C. R. Maboloc (Ed.), Ethics in contemporary Philippine society. SMKC Publishing.
Gaspar, K. (2021). Handuman (Remembrance): Digging for the indigenous wellspring. Claretian.
Gasper, D. (2004). The ethics of development. Edinburg University Press.
Gloria, H. (2014). History from below: A view from the Philippine south. Research and Publication Office – Ateneo de Davao University.
Hernandez, M. B. (2003). The Philippines’s Moro conflict: The problems and prospect for sustainable peace [Master’s Thesis, Georgetown University]. Digital Georgetown. https://tinyurl.com/55r3xvzr
Jubair, S. (2007). The long road to peace. Institute of Peace Studies.
Kamlian, J. (2012, October 20). “Who are the Moro people?” Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://tinyurl.com/3yyvjz47
Lara, F. (2015). Insurgents, clans, and states: Political legitimacy and resurgent conflict. Ateneo de Manila Press.
Maboloc, C. R. (2022). Syed Hussein Alatas and Karl Gaspar: Understanding cultural imperialism in contemporary Philippine society. Philippine Sociological Review, 70(1), 53-68. https://tinyurl.com/334jctpx
Maboloc, C. R. (2024a). Structural injustice and peacebuilding in the Bangsamoro. Social Ethics Society Journal of Applied Philosophy, 9(2), 37-51. https://tinyurl.com/3375bvfv
Maboloc, C. R. (2024b). Holistic peace and the Mindanao problem. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics, 34(3), 82-90.
Malaya, J. (2017). The quest for a federal republic. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
McKenna, T. (1998). Muslim rulers and rebels. University of California Press.
Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Highlights of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao population 2020 census. https://tinyurl.com/3wf2zjvn
Pitts, J. (2011). Empire, progress and the savage mind. In J. Levy & I. M. Young (Eds.), Colonialism and its legacies. Lexington Books.
Pogge, T. (1989). Realizing Rawls. Cornel University Press.
Pogge, T. (2007). Severe poverty as a human rights violation. In T. Pogge (Ed.), Freedom from poverty as a human right. Oxford University Press.
Pogge, T. (2008). World poverty and human rights. Polity.
Rasul, A. (2007). Broken peace: Assessing the 1996 GRP-MILF final peace agreement. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
Rawls, J. (2001). The law of peoples. Harvard University Press.
Sachs, J. (2005). The end of poverty. Penguin.
Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and famines. Oxford University Press.
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.
Singer, P. (2001). One world. Yale University Press.
Tanabe, J. (2019). Beyond liberal peace: Critique of liberal peace-building and exploring a post-liberal hybrid model of peacebuilding for a more humane world. Social Ethics Society Journal of Applied Philosophy, 5(1), 19-42. https://tinyurl.com/4rckev5c
Young, I. M. (1990). Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton University Press.
Young, I. M. (2000). Inclusion and democracy. Oxford University Press.
Young, I. M. (2002). The five faces of oppression. In T. Mappes & J. Zembaty (Eds.), Social ethics: Morality and social policy. McGraw-Hill.
Young, I. M. (2011). Responsibility for justice. Oxford University Press.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.