This collection introduces various on-the-ground testimonies on how conflict between the Moro National Liberation Front and the Philippine government culminated in the outbreak of the Battle of Jolo in 1974.
These transcripts were interviewed by Elgin Glenn R. Salomon
Chen, a Tausug with Chinese ancestry, speaks about his experience living through the Battle of Jolo in 1974. He discusses how the ethnic Chinese in Sulu were affected by the outbreak of hostilities between the Filipino government and the Moro National Liberation Front.
A daughter of a coast guard in the Philippine Marines during the Battle of Jolo in 1974, Maria recounts the chaos and destruction that ensued when the Philippine Air Force commenced bombings against the rebels during the battle.
Hussien discusses how his experiences from the Battle of Jolo in 1974, together with his father’s death from an aerial strike by the Filipino Air Force in the late 1970s, prompted him to join the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). He is currently the administrator of one of the biggest mosques in Metro Manila.
Al Caluang discusses his experience fighting for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, including how he was sent to places like Malaysia, Cuba and Angola to train how to mount resistance operations.
A soldier in the Philippine military during the 1970s, Malik witnessed the burning of Jolo in 1974 when rebel forces from the Moro National Liberation Front invaded the city. He also provides insight on various abuses that the military did during the early years of martial law.
Hussien, a freshman in high school when the Battle of Jolo erupted in the Philippines, discusses his experiences and observations of life immediately before and after martial law was declared in the country, as well as how he and his family faced the challenge of war and violence.
A former high-ranking member of the Moro National Liberation Front, Nur recollected how leaders of the Front collaborated with the Philippine communists and employed Maoist tactics to conduct actions in Mindanao.
Khalid, a member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) who quit the Front shortly before the Battle of Jolo in 1974, recounts how Sulu became militarised when martial law was imposed in 1972.