Mohammad Ali B. Dimaporo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives of the Philippines fromLanao del Sur's2nd district | |
| In office June 30, 1987 – June 30, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | district established |
| Succeeded by | Pangalian Balindong |
| Member of the House of Representatives fromLanao del Norte'sLone district | |
| In office December 30, 1965 – September 23, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Laurentino Badelles |
| Succeeded by | office abolished |
| Member of the House of Representatives fromLanao'sLone district | |
| In office May 21, 1957 – December 30, 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Domocao Alonto |
| Succeeded by | Laurentino Badelles |
| In office December 30, 1949 – December 30, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Manalao Mindalano |
| Succeeded by | Domocao Alonto |
| Governor of Lanao del Sur | |
| In office 1976 – March 1986 | |
| Preceded by | Mamarinta Lao |
| Succeeded by | Saidamen Pangarungan |
| Governor of Lanao del Norte | |
| In office 1960–1965 | |
| Preceded by | Salvador Lluch |
| Succeeded by | Arsenio Quibranza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1918-06-15)June 15, 1918 Binidayan,Lanao,Philippine Islands |
| Died | April 21, 2004(2004-04-21) (aged 85) Quezon City, Philippines |
| Political party | Nacionalista (1965–1972, 1992–1995) |
| Other political affiliations | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1978–1992) Liberal (1949–1965) |
Mohammad Ali Borngao Dimaporo (June 15, 1918 – April 21, 2004) was a Filipino politician who represented theLanao provinces in theHouse of Representatives of the Philippines from the 1950s to the 1990s and served as Governor ofLanao del Norte from 1960 to 1965 and ofLanao del Sur from 1976 to 1986. He was regarded as one of the most powerful Muslim politicians in the Philippines and one of the most important stalwarts of PresidentFerdinand Marcos in Mindanao during theMartial Law era.
Mohammad Ali Borngao Dimaporo was born on June 15, 1918, to Datu Dimaporo Marahom and Potri-Maamor Borngao Marahom inBinidayan,Lanao (now a part ofLanao del Sur). His father was the sultan of Binidayan and the town's president.[1] Dimaporo was mostly raised by his grandparents.[2]
After graduating from high school inDansalan in 1938, he took up law at theUniversity of the Philippines, where he met fellow studentFerdinand Marcos and was impressed by his defense during his trial for the murder ofJulio Nalundasan.[2]
Upon the outbreak of thePacific theatre of theSecond World War in December 1941, Dimaporo was drafted into thePhilippine Army but was interned by the Japanese inBukidnon in May 1942 following the American surrender. He was released in July 1942 after promising to assist in pacifying his fellowMaranaos but secretly assisted theguerrilla movement before taking up arms against the Japanese again in 1944.[2] In June of that year, he led a guerrilla unit in raiding the town ofMalabang, wiping out the Japanese garrison there.[3]
After the war, Dimaporo joined thePhilippine Constabulary and served as company commander in Malabang andTugaya, handling the surrender of loose firearms and participating in anti-slavery operations in the area.[3]
Dimaporo started his political career by joining theLiberal Party and winning election in 1949 asrepresentative ofLanao in thePhilippine Congress. He lost reelection in 1953 toDomocao Alonto but won a recount six months before the next elections in 1957, by which time Alonto had already been elected to theSenate back in 1955. Dimaporo lost his reelection bid thatNovember.[4][2]
In 1959, the province of Lanao was divided into two separate provinces corresponding to its predominantly Christian northern and Muslim southern parts. Despite coming from Lanao del Sur, Dimaporo chose to continue his political career inLanao del Norte, citing the established influence of the Alonto family in his home province. In 1960, Dimaporo ran and won asGovernor of Lanao del Norte, defeating his rivalSalvador Lluch by only 275 votes. In 1965, Dimaporo was elected representative of Lanao del Norte to Congress, serving until it was closed by President Marcos in 1972 following the declaration of Martial Law.[2]
Dimaporo distinguished himself during the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos by securing his victory in Lanao del Norte during the1965 presidential election by a wide margin despite Dimaporo being a member of the Liberal Party of reelectionist PresidentDiosdado Macapagal. Dimaporo remained loyal to Marcos even after his native region rebelled against the national government during theMoro conflict in the late 1960s and 1970s. Dimaporo even went as far as naming one of his sons, who had been born during a campaign visit by Marcos, after the President,[2] and tried to refute the existence of theJabidah Massacre in 1968 by producing the supposedly-alive Muslim trainees for an invasion ofSabah who were massacred by theArmed Forces of the Philippines, but were subsequently revealed to beIlocanos fromLuzon following an investigation by SenatorBenigno Aquino Jr. In another instance, Dimaporo proclaimed that he would do everything Marcos ordered him to do, including jumping into the sea, to show his intense loyalty to him.[5]
As a reward, Marcos appointed Dimaporo asGovernor of Lanao del Sur and concurrent president of theMindanao State University (MSU) at the height of theMartial Law dictatorship in 1976, following the exile of his political rivals, the Lucmans and the Alontos. During this time, he was credited with expanding the university's facilities, but was criticized for stifling dissent by students and faculty and failing to prevent abuses by the military in the province.[1]
By the early 1980s, Dimaporo was widely acknowledged to be the most powerful politician in Mindanao. He was regarded as the only Muslim whom Marcos really trusted and the leader of hisKilusang Bagong Lipunan Party in Mindanao. He was also regarded to be the sole gatekeeper between Marcos and Mindanao's Muslims, through which their petitions to Marcos' regime passed through.[6] He was also said to have owned properties inMetro Manila[7] andLos Angeles[6] and amassed a private army of about 4,000 followers,[8] which in turn grew out of the “Barracuda” militias that he helped establish in the late 1960s during the early phase of the sectarian conflict in Mindanao.[2]
In August 1982, Marcos appointed Dimaporo as the only Muslim member of the National Executive Committee, which functioned as a key advisory council to the President and the de facto governing authority in the event of Marcos vacating thepresidency. Later that year Dimaporo arranged to have himself "enthroned" as "His Royal Highness, the Sultan ofMasiu" in a lavish ceremony attended by Marcos, First LadyImelda Marcos, and the traditional nobility of Muslim Mindanao.[6]
During the 1986People Power Revolution, armed supporters of Dimaporo forced the cancellation of a prayer rally in support of the revolt in Marawi on February 24, while he himself holed up in the MSU with his men pledging to "defend the campus from attack", resulting in a standoff that lasted until he left the university on March 1, by which time Marcos had already fled.[1]
Dimaporo was subsequently removed from his offices by PresidentCorazon Aquino but refused to acknowledge his removal as governor, leading into another standoff when he ordered his men to fortify the provincial capitol. Although they were removed in a lightning operation by the military in April, his supporters then staged a series of attacks on opponents and army units in Marawi, while Dimaporo holed himself up in Binidayan, insisting on his legitimacy as governor and refusing to surrender his arsenal.[1]
Dimaporo was also accused of involvement in coup attempts against Aquino inJuly 1986[9] andAugust 1987, the last of which was said to have been planned at his residence inCorinthian Gardens,Quezon City. He later managed to extricate himself by interceding in the return of abducted religious personnel in Marawi, and with the help of infighting among his opponents,[1] was able to maintain his influence in Lanao, returning to Congress as representative ofLanao del Sur's2nd district from 1987 to 1995.[4] In1990, he ran for governor of theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao but lost toZacaria Candao.[10]
Dimaporo died of natural causes at thePhilippine Heart Center inQuezon City on April 21, 2004. His remains were flown back to Mindanao and he was buried in Binidayan the following day.[2]
Dimaporo founded a political dynasty that continues to dominate politics in the two Lanao provinces. His sonAbdullah Dimaporo, daughter-in-lawImelda Quibranza-Dimaporo and grandsonMohamad Khalid Dimaporo have represented and governed Lanao del Norte since 1984, while his granddaughtersFatima Aliah Dimaporo andSittie Aminah Dimaporo also represented Lanao del Norte in Congress.[11] His brother-in-law,Omar Dianalan, served as mayor ofMarawi.[1]
Several of his siblings and cousins were also politicians in both Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, such as his cousinSultan Muliloda Datumulok, who served as mayor of Binidayan, and his brothersMacacuna Dimaporo, who served as congressman of Lanao del Sur andSpeaker pro tempore of theRegular Batasang Pambansa,[4] and Sultan Naga Dimaporo, who was mayor ofKaromatan.[1]