Moro Province is the name of the province of the Philippines consisting of the current provinces/regions of Zamboanga,
LanaoLanao Province was one of the former provinces of the Philippines from 1914 to 1959. Today the province comprises of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.-History:...
,
CotabatoCotabato , is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao...
,
DavaoDavao Region / Southern Mindanao, designated as Region XI, is one of the regions of the Philippines, located on the southeastern portion of Mindanao. Davao Region consists of four provinces, namely: Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Sur. The region encloses the Davao...
, and
SuluThe Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of the Moroland by the local rebel independence movement. This island group forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea....
. It was later split into the current provinces/regions organized under the
Department of Mindanao and SuluThe Department of Mindanao and Sulu was an agency of the United States colonial administration in the Philippine Islands tasked to administer all Muslim-dominated areas in the territory. It was established on July 23, 1914, pursuant to Act No. 2408, replacing the Moro Province after the latter was...
, along with Agusan, Bukidnon and Surigao but excluding Lanao.
Government
The province is governed under a civil government that has an executive and legislative branch.
Executive
The governor serves also as the commander of the Army Department of Mindanao-Jolo. Most of the district governors and their deputies are members of the American military.
In 1913, the military governor was replaced by a civil governor.
Legislative
The Moro Council serves as the legislative body of the province. This Council "consisted of the governor, a state attorney, a secretary, a treasurer, a superintendent of schools, and an engineer." Although the governor appointed all of the other members of the council, this body was permanent, and provided a more solid foundation for laws than the fiats of the governor, which might be overturned by his successor.
Districts
The province was divided into five districts, with American officers serving as district governors and deputy governors. These districts included:
CotabatoCotabato , is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao...
,
DavaoDavao refers to several closely related places in Mindanao in the Philippines. The term is used most often to refer to the city.*Davao Region, an administrative region*Davao del Norte province*Davao del Sur province*Davao Oriental province...
, Lanao,
SuluSulu is an autonomous island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Jolo and occupies the middle group of islands of the Sulu Archipelago, between Basilan and Tawi-Tawi...
, and Zamboanga. The districts were sub-divided into tribal wards, with major datus serving as ward chiefs and minor datus serving as deputies, judges, and sheriffs.
History
After the dissolution of the
Republic of ZamboangaThe Republic of Zamboanga was a short-lived revolutionary republic, founded after the collapse of Spanish colonial rule in Zamboanga in 1899.-End of Spanish Occupation:...
and others part of Mindanao are under American rule, the American civil government led by Governor
William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
authorized the creation of the Moro Province that includes "all of the territory of the Philippines lying south of the eight parallel of latitude, excepting the island of
PalawanPalawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
and the eastern portion of the northwest peninsula of Mindanao." The Province was created by the virtue of Act No. 787 in June 1, 1903.
Major General Leonard WoodLeonard Wood was a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba and Governor General of the Philippines. Early in his military career, he received the Medal of Honor. Wood also holds officer service #2 in the Regular Army...
, with the capacity of commander of the Army Department of Mindanao-Sulu was appointed governor of the province in August 6, 1903.
Governors
| PICTURE |
GOVERNOR |
TERM |
 |
Major General Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Leonard WoodLeonard Wood was a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba and Governor General of the Philippines. Early in his military career, he received the Medal of Honor. Wood also holds officer service #2 in the Regular Army...
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August 6, 1903–February 1, 1906 |
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Major General Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Tasker Howard BlissTasker Howard Bliss GCMG was Chief of Staff of the United States Army from September 22, 1917 until May 18, 1918.-Biography:...
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February 1, 1906–April 6, 1909 |
| |
ColonelIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
Ralph Hoyt |
April 1909-September 1909 |
| |
Captain
Charles Hagedon |
September 1909-November 11, 1909 |
 |
Major General Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
John J. PershingJohn Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
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November 11, 1909–December 1913 |
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Frank Carpenter |
December 1913–July 23, 1914 |
Military to Civilian Government
By 1913, Governor
PershingJohn Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
agreed that the Moro Province needed to transition to civil government. This was prompted by the Moro's personalistic approach to government, which was based on personal ties rather than a respect for an abstract office. To the Moros, a change of administration meant not just a change in leadership but a change in regime, and was a traumatic experience. Rotation within the military meant that each military governor could serve only for a limited time. Until 1911, every district governor and secretary had been a military officer. By November 1913, only one officer still held a civil office – Pershing himself. In December 1913, Pershing was replaced as governor of Moro Province by a civilian, Frank Carpenter.
Dissolution
On July 23, 1914, the Moro Province was officially replaced by an agency named the
Department of Mindanao and SuluThe Department of Mindanao and Sulu was an agency of the United States colonial administration in the Philippine Islands tasked to administer all Muslim-dominated areas in the territory. It was established on July 23, 1914, pursuant to Act No. 2408, replacing the Moro Province after the latter was...
including the whole island of Mindanao except Lanao. The agency was tasked to administer all
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
-dominated areas in the territory. Frank Carpenter remained as governor of the agency.
See also
- Moro Rebellion
The Moro Rebellion was an armed military conflict between Moro revolutionary groups in the Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan and the United States military which took place in the Philippines as early as between 1899 to 1913, following the Spanish-American War in 1898...
- Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
- Cotabato City
The City of Cotabato is one of the cities of the Philippines located in Mindanao. Cotabato City is an exclave of the SOCCSKSARGEN region found within the boundaries of Maguindanao province, but is independent of that province...
- Davao
Davao refers to several closely related places in Mindanao in the Philippines. The term is used most often to refer to the city.*Davao Region, an administrative region*Davao del Norte province*Davao del Sur province*Davao Oriental province...
- Department of Mindanao and Sulu
The Department of Mindanao and Sulu was an agency of the United States colonial administration in the Philippine Islands tasked to administer all Muslim-dominated areas in the territory. It was established on July 23, 1914, pursuant to Act No. 2408, replacing the Moro Province after the latter was...
- General Leonard Wood