By Mike Baños
A fresh look at the local history of Mindanao during the Philippine Revolution which presented new and existing historiographies from 1898 to 1901 was highlighted in an academic conference hosted by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines on 25-26 May 2026 at the Ayala Museum, Makati City.
The conference sought to explore the enduring legacies of the Philippine Revolution, Philippine-American War, and the First Philippine Republic beyond 1901 in partnership with the Ayala Foundation, the Ayala Museum, and the member-affiliates of the Local Historical Committees Network (LHCN).
Scheduled on the first day of the conference on 25 May 2026 dubbed SESSION 3: HISTORIOGRAPHICAL INQUIRY OF MINDANAO LOCAL HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE AND NATIONHOOD, it featured the following topics:
The Maranao Resistance to Spanish Occupation and its Impact on Mindanao during the Philippine Revolution by Assistant Professor Rey Luis A. Montesclaros of the Department of History, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Mindanao State University — Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT); The Philippine-American War in Northern Mindanao by Rene Michael D. Baños, Founding Member of the Northern Mindanao Heritage Network; and Musings on the Relevance of the First Official Raising of the Philippine Flag in Mindanao by Neil Martial D. Santillan, Ph.D., Professor, Department of History, University of the Philippines Diliman.
An Open Forum with the panelists immediately followed with Josef Alec D. Geradila, Historic Sites Development Officer, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) moderating.
Noting the growing inclusion of Mindanao history in the national history narrative, Dr. Faina C. Abaya-Ulindang, author/lecturer/professor at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, Iligan Medical Center College, and Mindanao State University, noted: :That will be a great contribution. These Mindanao tales- factual/archival or some narratives gathered as oral history, I am sure many will take interest in that, because as you had observed Mindanao history remains peripheral in our national history, specifically World War II history/ies. Yes, that will be a very timely project. XU Archives has, I believe substantial sources for World War II.”
