The Carpenter Agreement

Frank Carpenter was the governor of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, he was assisted by a Cebuano who had the rank of deputy governor. This Cebuano’s name was Antonio Minoza, who was then the municipal president of Argao, Cebu. The appointment of Minoza ushered the migration of thousands of Cebuanos to Mindanao, the reason why Bisaya is the dominant language and many of the surnames there are of Cebuano descent.

The Carpenter Agreement was issued on March 22, 1915, of which the governor general of the Philippines acknowledged that the Sultan of Sulu (Hadji M. Jamalul Kiram) is the titular head of the Mohammedan Church in the Sulu Archipelago with all the Mohammedan rights and privileges which under the government of the United States of America may be exercised by such an ecclesiastical authority.

The sultan likewise ratified and confirmed his recognition of the sovereignty of the United States of America, and the exercise by the governor general and the representative of the government (referring to the Department of Mindanao and Sulu) of all the attributes of sovereign government that are exercised elsewhere in American territory and dependencies including the adjudication by government courts or its other duly authorized officers of all civil and criminal causes falling within the law and orders of the government.

Sultan Kiram was assisted by Hadji Butu, a Muslim scholar and brilliant lawyer who became the first Muslim senator representing the 12th Senatorial District. We must be reminded that the original senate (1916-1935) divided the country into 12 senatorial districts, with the electorates voting two senators every district.

The problem of Muslim dissention was properly addressed by the Americans with the creation of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu and the appointments of Muslims as senators, thereby solving the question of lack of representation in governance.

Another signatory of the Carpenter Agreement was Isidro Vamenta. Of Cebuano descent, he became a lawyer on April 9, 1906 and the editor of La Tribuna with the Cebuano translation “Ang Pasundayagan”.

The other Muslims who witnessed the signing of the agreement were: Datu Rajamuda, Datu Mohamammad, Abdulla Awarig, and Hadji Mohawad. “Marayaw Maynaat Bagay Tausug”.