Photos and texts by Jes Aznar
In the layers of conflict, we find a labyrinth of truths. Religion, a mere facade, conceals the primal urges that drive humanity to war. Scholars claim that the term ‘religious wars’ is a Western construct, a recent coinage that obscures the real reasons behind conflicts. As we peel back the layers, we discover that faith is but a small part of the narrative. Like an onion, the truth reveals itself in layers, each one a revelation, a discovery. We are fed narratives by the mass-media, of protagonists and antagonists, good vs. evil, black and white. But the reality on the ground is a kaleidoscope of complexities borne by a prism of primal motivations.
Over fourteen years ago, I ventured into Mindanao with preconceptions etched in my mind. But the longer I stayed, the more I saw, the more I learned to reject the narratives I was fed. A colleague once said, ‘There are over 200 books written about Mindanao, yet none come close to capturing its essence.’ Conflicts are full of contradictions, and the real reasons are often obscured by those who want to hide them.
The idea of a ‘promised land,’ a ‘liberation’ of its inhabitants, is a tired refrain, a justification for invasion and colonisation. Mindanao has been labeled similarly for the same purpose. The US conquest of indigenous American lands and their current interest in West Asian lands all bear the same premise – the primal urge to possess.
The empire of the United States left its mark on Mindanao, a brutal incursion that saw villages burned, civilians killed in mosques, and lives lost. Mark Twain’s words echo: “The Bud Dajo massacre, a twin to Wounded Knee.” The atrocities that followed, committed by US-installed governments like that of Marcos Sr., were equally bloody. Villages were burned, and civilians were killed in mosques while praying. Casualties among both Muslim and Christian civilians were at an all-time high. The people, perpetually displaced, had their land transferred to multinational corporations and the local oligarchy.
Rebellions in Mindanao are deeply rooted not only in the number of native lives lost but also in the dispossession of their land and identity. The current distorted lens of hegemony focuses on differences in faith, ideology, and creed, obscuring the primal truths that drive us to war.
A long history of foreign incursions and massacres has led to the creation of resistance armies. The Torrens system, introduced in 1903 by the US colonial government, paved the way for multinational corporations and local landlords to facilitate land acquisition in Mindanao, often at the expense of local and Indigenous communities, by leveraging legal mechanisms that favour formally titled land over traditional or customary land rights.
In 1968, a secessionist movement seeking an independent Muslim state from the Philippines was formed. A few years later, the armed Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was established, and the succeeding Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a breakaway group from the MNLF, waged war with the government for years, only to be replaced by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and newer secessionist groups waging old conflicts.
While peace was enjoyed for a time after deals between the separatist groups and the government were made, it is also historically true that when the deep roots of conflict remain unaddressed, wars can spark anew. Decades of conflict have plunged Mindanao into a cycle of poverty and violence that has led to the death of more than 100,000 people and has recently given rise to extremist influences in the form of militant groups such as the Islamic State.
- Farm laborers working on a piece of land in Bukidnon, Mindanao.
September 2017. Farmers tilling a parcel of land in northern Cotabatoo.
- Moro Islamic Liberation Front soldiers walking through a marsh with fresh supplies, in between gunfights at the frontline of war in Maguindanao against IS-inspired insurgents.
August 2018. A portrait of Moro Islamic Liberation Front administrator Ali Akoy aged 68. Mr Ali was undergoing therapy after suffering a stroke while on duty.
An armed government police officer in Jolo island in Sulu, at the time considered the most dangerous place in the country and the birthplace of the first Islamic rebellion against the fascist rule of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The town of Jolo was burned down by the military under orders of the president killing more than 20,000 civilians that further fanned the flames of rebellion. The Sulu islands are host to Christians, Muslims, and Chinese descendents who lived relatively harmoniously for centuries prior to Spanish colonial expansion from the 16th to the 19th Century, and US Colonial rule following the Spanish-American War which saw the use of massive military firepower to try to subjugate the region.
- A villager from Maimbung being carried to a hospital. At the time, the remote village of Maimbung was a stronghold of the extremist group Abu Sayyaf, one of the most targeted by local and US military. Going to the city for medical attention meant a four hour trip on foot, across rivers, a jungle, and through a heavily militarized area referred to as ‘No-Man’s-Land’.
August 2009. Growing up in an environment beset by conflict, young boys play with toy guns and mimic the activities of combatants in the armed conflict between rebel groups and government forces in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao.
Members of the Ilaga, a militia group with Christian settler members, performing the annual sacred ritual of re-blessing their amulets and weapons through prayer. The group was formed during the 1970s with government support to quell local uprisings from Muslims who had been dispossessed of their land by Catholic settlers. This practice – and the group itself – is not sanctioned by the Catholic Church. One of the victims of violence was an Italian Catholic priest, Tulio Favali, who was helping the poor and human rights victims in Mindanao.
August 2009. Children playing inside a makeshift evacuation center as they and hundreds of other families take shelter while battles raged between rebels and government forces in nearby villages.
November 2009. An internally displaced family selling food items to make ends meet in a makeshift evacuation camp inside a Catholic church compound in Datu Piang, Maguindanao. The conflict has forced them out of their villages, and they cannot work their farms for weeks.
A market in Datu Piang, Maguindanao. Datu Piang was formerly known as Dulawan, and was regarded as the cradle of the bustling Maguindanaoan civilisation in the 12th century. It stands in the middle of Rio Grande, the river that spans 373 kilometers from the mountains of central Mindanao to the Moro bay in the southwest. It nurtures the broad, fertile plain in the south-central portion of the island and served as a major artery for trade with Arabic countries, Southeast Asian neighbors, and China. Today, the town stands witness to the effects of centuries of colonization and decades of war with little to no development.
April 2016. Farm workers on a palm oil plantation in Cotabato. In 1903, the US government created Land Acts that would give peasants parcels of land. President William Taft believed that this move would make the peasants loyal subjects. But the move was overturned a mere two years later as some administrators argued that large-scale industrial plantations were more beneficial to corporate business and US government interests. And that has stuck since. By 1912, there were 159 major plantations (100 hectares or more) in Mindanao, 66 of them owned by American companies.
September 2008. A government soldier taking up a position during a gun battle with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters in Dapiyawan, Maguindanao.
November 2009. A displaced woman fetches water in a makeshift evacuation shelter inside a Catholic church compound in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.
April 2016. A dried-up plantation caused by drought and monocropping in Cotabato.
- Armed residents of Nimao in Maguindao plant rice while guarding their village.
- Moro Islamic Liberation Front soldiers walking through a marsh in between gunfights at the frontline of war in Maguindanao against IS-inspired insurgents.
May 2010. Residents casting their votes in Maguindanao in central Mindanao during the presidential elections in 2010. Mindanao holds nearly a third of the Philippines’ total voting population. Maguindanao is also the country’s poorest province and the most neglected.
February 2019. Government soldiers carrying the coffin of a fallen comrade who died in a gunfight with rebels in Basilan.
January 2019. Residents stand in front of a military armoured tank during a plebiscite on whether their province will be included in the proposed new autonomous region in Mindanao.
- A government soldier conducts a house-to-house search for insurgents.
- A Marawi resident among the remains of her home.
- A Marawi resident examines the ruins of his home.
Displaced Marawi residents spent years living inside makeshift shelters after a war devastated their city in 2017. The city remains off limits to this day, with residents learning that the government has allotted the land to other developments and infrastructure.
- People flock to the streets in Cotabato city to show support for the Bangsamoro Organic Law ahead of the polls in Mindanao, southern Philippines. The law, crafted after a peace deal between descendants of the native inhabitants of Mindanao island and the Philippine government, could pave the way for lasting peace after more than 50 years of war.
- A soldier looking at the ruins of what was once a vibrant Marawi city.
Jes Aznar is a Filipino photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Manila, Philippines. He has been publishing visual stories through international publications like New York Times for nearly two decades. His visual works gravitate towards the effects of feudalism, colonialism and hegemony. He studied painting in UP Diliman and advertising at University of Santo Tomas, then trained in photojournalism at the Konrad Adeneur Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University (ACFJ) and in Conflict Sensitive Journalism at the Deutsche Welle Akademie in Berlin. He teaches visual and media literacy to journalism students, civic organisations, and the general public across the country. He initiated visual journalism programs like the Romeo Gacad Visual Journalism lectures and curates @everydayimpunity.
IG: @jeszmann
Editors’ note
The long-running Moro Conflict in Mindanao, the Philippines’ second largest island, has roots beyond the modern era, to a time of resistance against first Spanish, then American colonial rule. The ethnicity of Mindanao’s population is significantly comprised of indigenous groups – to which the Muslim-majority Moro peoples belong – and other Muslim Filipinos. Moro rebels were instrumental in the fight against Japanese occupation during World War II, continuing this legacy of resistance.
Post World War II, successive Philippine presidents continued an American policy to settle predominantly Christian Catholics on Mindanao, seizing land from the indigenous and Muslim populations and leading to disputes and accusations of political favouritism. This background of ethnic, religious, and political tensions, evolved into open hostilities between the Marcos administration and Moro rebel groups. These groups coalesced into the Moro National Liberation Front and later the dominant Moro Islamic Liberation Front, with various smaller groups operating, often linked to family and clan affiliations.
A deadly conflict continued for over four decades, through stuttering attempts at a peace process. In 2014, a Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region was agreed by the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. However, violent clashes continue, with inter-clan warfare and the rise of Islamic State extremists undermining the peace, despite the formation of a peacekeeping force composed of Philippine Police and Army, and MILF fighters. Elements of The Moro Islamic Liberation Front have not completely disarmed, with some groups operating semi-autonomously, further adding to the continued tensions in the path toward Bangsamoro autonomy. At the time of writing, important elections that were due to take place in 2025 have been delayed, and are now set to take place on or before March 31 of 2026.
In “Promised Land”, Filipino photographer Jes Aznar, who has been covering Mindanao for over fourteen years, offers his personal reflections on the conflict, and shows us the reality of war for both combatants and civilians alike.
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“We host dams, geothermal plants, and windmills, but we don’t even get electricity. The power is used for industries and businesses, not for our communities.”
Manila – Police forcibly entered the home of Indigenous woman human rights defender Elma Awingan-Tuazon in Pinukpuk, Kalinga on November 30, leaving her family shaken. Elma, a long-time advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental protection, has opposed dam and mining projects that threaten ancestral lands in the province.
Her case is not isolated. Indigenous leaders and human rights advocates say it reflects a broader pattern of harassment and intimidation faced by communities resisting large-scale energy and extractive projects promoted as solutions to the climate crisis.
Read: Rights group, kin denounce harassment in Kalinga
To supposedly address the climate crisis, governments and corporations are pushing wind farms, solar parks, geothermal plants, and mining for so-called transition minerals across Asia. For many Indigenous communities, however, these projects have resulted in land loss, heightened military presence, and escalating human rights violations.
Impacts on Indigenous communities
“For us, renewable energy transition means the construction of large dams, wind, and solar farms on our ancestral lands, and even the expansion of mining within our territories,” said Kim Falyao, an Igorot youth leader from the Cordillera and national coordinator of Siklab Philippines Indigenous Youth Network.
Indigenous youth leader Kim Falyao poses for the camera, calling for an end to militarization in ancestral lands during the Human Rights Day protest in Manila on Dec. 10. Photo by Chantal Eco/Bulatlat
Falyao said renewable energy projects entering ancestral lands often lead to environmental destruction, including soil erosion, and land degradation, at a time when the Philippines is increasingly vulnerable to disasters. She said large-scale projects require extensive alterations to the land where Indigenous communities live, making mountains and farmlands more prone to landslides.
She added that Indigenous communities are displaced to give way to the construction of these projects.
Falyao also stressed that many of these projects proceed without genuine free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).
“Free, prior, and informed consent should not be treated as just a process, it is a right of Indigenous peoples, rooted in our right to self-determination. Communities themselves should decide what projects enter their ancestral lands,” Falyao said.
Beyond environmental damage, the Indigenous youth linked renewable energy projects to militarization.
“When renewable energy projects enter ancestral lands, militarization follows. There are more soldiers, more detachments, more encampments. And because of that, human rights violations also increase,” she said.In Kalinga alone where 23 renewable energy projects have been approved, Cordillera People’s Alliance said that at least five military battalions operate within the province contributing to a climate of intimidation and human rights violations.
Surge of renewable energy projects in the Cordillera
Kalinga has become a hotspot for overlapping dam, mining, and renewable energy projects, raising concerns among Indigenous communities about displacement and repression.
Department of Energy (DOE) data as of April 30, 2025 show that 102 renewable energy projects have been awarded in the Cordillera region. Only 18 projects are in commercial operation, while 84 remain under development or pre-development.
Hydropower dominates the region, with 92 awarded projects, followed by geothermal, solar, wind, and biomass projects, most of which are still in early stages. Indigenous leaders warn that the sheer number of proposed projects, many located within ancestral lands, raises concerns about cumulative environmental damage and forced displacement.
Site of the 250MW Gened-2 Hydropower Project in Kabugao, Apayao. The province was designated as one of UNESCO’s biosphere reserves recognizing the province’s rich indigenous culture and biodiversity. Photo by Chantal Eco
“This is why we are very concerned,” Falyao said. “The more projects that come in, the more pressure there is on our land and our communities.”
Falyao cited the forced entry into Elma Awingan-Tuazon’s home as part of a broader pattern of harassment linked to contested energy projects.
Read: Special Report | Push for renewables threatens lands and livelihood in the Cordillera
Documented rights violations across Asia
According to Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI), large-scale renewable energy and transition-related projects have been linked to widespread human rights violations affecting Indigenous peoples across Asia. These include land grabbing, lack of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), forced displacement, militarization of communities, and attacks against Indigenous leaders and defenders.
Since 2021, IPRI has documented nearly 500 cases of violence and harassment against Indigenous peoples in Asia, ranging from arrests and intimidation to killings. Twenty-four of these cases are directly linked to energy transition projects, including dams, geothermal plants, wind farms, and large-scale solar installations.
According to IPRI, these 24 cases have affected almost 100,000 Indigenous women, men, and children, many of whom live in or near ancestral lands targeted for renewable energy development.
“These projects are presented as climate solutions, but they are being implemented at the expense of Indigenous peoples. This is green colonization,” Joan Carling, executive director of Indigenous Peoples Rights International, told Bulatlat.
Carling said projects imposed without consent have resulted in land grabbing, food insecurity, and community division, while increasing risks for Indigenous women defenders.
“We host dams, geothermal plants, and windmills, but we don’t even get electricity. The power is used for industries and businesses, not for our communities,” she said.
A pattern beyond the Philippines
The situation in Kalinga reflects similar struggles faced by Indigenous communities in other parts of Asia, where resistance to large-scale renewable energy projects has also led to project suspensions.
In Assam, India, Indigenous and Adivasi communities have been resisting a large solar power project that would have taken over 18,000 bighas, or about 2,500 hectares, of ancestral land.
“There was no free, prior, and informed consent. There was no proper consultation,” said Pranab Doley, an Indigenous human rights defender from India working with affected communities.
Doley said sustained protests by Indigenous communities forced authorities to suspend the project, highlighting the role of community resistance in challenging large-scale energy developments imposed without consent.
“Large-scale solar takes massive amounts of land. It destroys forests, hills, rivers, and communities. That can never be just,” Doley said.
In Poco Leok, Flores Island in Indonesia, Indigenous communities have opposed a government-backed geothermal project promoted as a carbon-reduction measure.
Indigenous residents of Poco Leok, Indonesia, were arrested by police on Oct. 2, 2024, while protesting the entry of a company planning to build a geothermal power plant into their community. Photo supplied
“The government says this project will reduce carbon emissions. But in reality, it threatens the lives of Indigenous people,” Kristianus Jaret, an Indigenous youth leader from Poco Leok, said in Bahasa Indonesia.Jaret said community resistance led to the suspension of the project, after residents protested and raised concerns over land rights, health impacts, and the loss of livelihoods.
Members of the Indigenous community in Poco Leok gather at Gendang Mucu on Aug. 17, 2025 to mark Indonesia’s Independence Day and celebrate their victory against the proposed geothermal power plant. Photo supplied
“People suffered health problems, and their farms were no longer productive. That is why we rejected this project,” he said, referring to community experiences linked to the Ulumbu geothermal plant in Flores.
Not against renewable energy
Indigenous leaders stressed that they are not opposing renewable energy itself or the need to address the climate crisis.
“We are not against renewable energy, what we are against are projects that destroy our land and put our communities in danger,” Falyao said.
For Carling, a just transition must be grounded in Indigenous rights and community decision-making.
“There is no just transition if Indigenous peoples are being sacrificed,” she said.
Indigenous leaders said a just transition must begin with respect for Indigenous rights, including free, prior, and informed consent. Without these guarantees, they warned that renewable energy development risks repeating the same patterns of land dispossession and exclusion long faced by Indigenous communities across Asia. (RVO)
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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released approximately 3,900 documents on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, marking the first disclosure under a new law signed by former President Donald Trump. The legislation requires the DOJ to make Epstein-related records public.
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U.S. Democrats Disclose New Epstein Pictures Featuring Donald Trump and Bill Clinton
Most of the files are photographs and are available through the DOJ’s official website in the “Epstein Library.” Categories include Judicial Records; DOJ Disclosures under the Epstein Records Transparency Act (H.R. 4405); Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests; and releases from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
While some images depict prominent figures and trips associated with Epstein, many files are heavily redacted. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the DOJ for the extensive censorship.
Missing from the #Epstein files: a 60-count indictment and an 82-page evidence memo.#US https://t.co/7RIDfF1EFt
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 20, 2025
“Simply releasing a mountain of pages with blacked-out sections violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law. For example, 119 pages of a single document were entirely redacted. We need answers as to why,” Schumer said. He added that lawmakers are reviewing the materials “to determine what steps must be taken to hold the Trump administration accountable” and warned, “We will pursue all options to ensure the truth is known.”
The December 19 deadline for the DOJ to release the files followed Epstein’s death by apparent suicide in 2019, while he awaited trial for sex trafficking minors in Manhattan. His death has fueled multiple conspiracy theories, given his extensive connections in political, business, and entertainment circles.
⚖️ Several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein express distress over the piecemeal release of Epstein-related documents by House Oversight Committee Democrats, saying the selective disclosures are upsetting
⏳ Justice Department is due to release all Epstein files with redactions, as… pic.twitter.com/EEjo9fymcb
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 19, 2025
Trump initially resisted disclosing the records but later supported congressional approval of the bill, which he signed into law last month. Trump and Epstein were reportedly close from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. In recent statements, Trump denied any involvement with Epstein, saying he expelled him from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club, and asserting, “We have nothing to hide,” noting that “all his friends were Democrats.”
Previously published emails include Epstein claiming that Trump “knew about the girls” and that he was “the only one who could end it.”
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The United States is considering restrictive measures against Spanish-flagged vessels following Spain’s decision to block the transit of US military cargo bound for Israel through its territory, prompting a formal investigation by US maritime authorities.
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In late September this year, the Spanish government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez prohibited the transit of US aircraft and ships carrying weapons, ammunition, or military equipment destined for Israel through the military bases of Rota, in Cádiz, and Morón de la Frontera, in Seville. The measure was adopted in protest against Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
The Joint Spanish–US Committee confirmed the decision, clarifying that the ban applies both to aircraft and vessels heading directly to Israel and to those bound for the country after intermediate stopovers.
Restrictive Port Practices of the Government of Spain: Update – https://t.co/j1mpoQEk8t
— FMC (@FMC_gov) December 19, 2025
Washington responded on Friday through the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), which said it is considering closing US ports to Spanish ships while it investigates Spain’s refusal to allow US cargo vessels carrying arms to Israel to dock at the port of Algeciras, in southern Spain.
In a statement, the FMC said it is examining options that include cargo limitations, denial of entry to vessels operating under the Spanish flag, or fines of up to $2.3 million per voyage for Spanish-flagged ships.
Spain has prohibited the transfer of US weapons to Israel through the military bases of Rota and Morón, facilities located on Spanish territory but used by the United States under bilateral defense agreements.
#PedroSanchez reaffirmed #Spain's long-standing solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying, "Spain and #Palestine will always walk hand in hand."https://t.co/AUtJUobewG
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 10, 2025
US authorities view Spain’s stance as a challenge. The FMC said it is gathering information on “the current policy of Spain of denying or rejecting port access to certain vessels carrying cargo to or from Israel,” which, according to the commission, may be creating “unfavorable general or special conditions for maritime transport in US foreign trade.” The FMC, which is independent of the US government, stressed the urgency of completing its investigation to determine what “corrective measures may be appropriate to address such conditions.”
According to sources from Spain’s Ministry of Defense cited by Europa Press in September, the Defense Cooperation Agreement governing military collaboration between the two countries will not be amended. As a result, US-operated military bases in Spain remain excluded from arms embargoes.
Under Article 32 of the agreement, the United States must obtain authorization from the Permanent Committee, which operates under Spain’s Ministry of Defense, for operations involving the loading or unloading of munitions and explosives, as well as their transport by land, sea, or air within Spanish territory. However, the United States is not required to disclose the final destination of such cargo when stopovers are involved.
🗣️ 'It is deeply concerning that Spain, a NATO member, has chosen to potentially limit U.S. operations and to turn its back on Israel'
US expresses concern about Spain’s port restrictions on Israel https://t.co/dukha60hxR pic.twitter.com/jtqmAPuHxs
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) September 10, 2025
Spain reaffirmed in September its decision to halt arms sales to Israel, a move that has been questioned by some reports. The country has also taken broader diplomatic steps critical of Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In late May 2024, Madrid formally recognized the State of Palestine and later joined South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of committing genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip.
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