A burial ground that include a tomb believed to be that of 17th century Muslim hero Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat is in danger of being eroded by the strong current of the Ramitan River here.
Resident Sonaira Amatunding, herself a descendant of the hero sultan, said the tomb used to be some 50 meters from the riverbank. But she said the changing course of the river has eroded a burial ground where some 30 graves have been wiped out.
Regional Secretary Tun Mustapha Loong of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DPWH-ARMM) said the hero's tomb has now been reduced to only 10 meters at most, away from the running stream.
Loong said there was no funding yet to rehabilitate the riverbank to protect the burial ground, but he added the “immediate solution” would be to excavate a mid-river soil formation that hindered the downstream current-and is hitting hard the right riverbank, in effect.
There has been no official confirmation yet on whether Kudarat had indeed been buried there. But to residents, the tomb has been so upheld here as the one of Kudarat’s: “One sign is that grasses don’t grow over the tomb, while the tallest of grass species abound all-around here,” said Kador, who is said to be more than 100 years old, and the oldest among living residents.
But Maguindanao Sultan Abdulaziz Guiwan Salem Mastura Kudarat V said the sultanate passed last year a resolution, asserting that the supposed tomb of his ancestor in Ramitan village was actually the historical spot where Sultan Kudarat stood and delivered his “famous lake speech,” as documented by Spanish chronicler Francisco Combes.
The sultanate’s resolution forwarded to the National Historical Commission (NHC) also confirmed that Sultan Kudarat (1580-1671), held his camps in both Ramitan in Lanao, and in Lamitan, Basilan, where the provincial government acknowledged his heroism as “the great defender of Basilan” from Spanish invasion in the 17th century.
The same resolution, however, said that the burial site of Kudarat, who reigned over most of Mindanao for 40 years, is in Barangay Simuay Seashore, next to the graves of Jesuit Padre Melchor Lopez, and that of Rajah Muda Pulalon, the ancestor of former Maguindanao Governor Zacaria Candao.
Негізгі бет PICONG, Lanao del Sur
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