There are a lot of discussions again about the Philippine claim over North Borneo. The latest resulted from the furor caused by a group of Tausogs, followers of Sultan Kiram, holing themselves up somewhere in North Borneo to press their claim of sovereignty, actually for rentals.
Prof. Solita Monsod in her column in the Philippine Inquirer said that the Sultanate of Sulu has historical rights over North Borneo because in 1685 the Sultan of Brunei awarded it to the Sultan of Sulu for helping him defeat Brunei rebels. Then she proceeded to criticize the way Spain ceded the Philippines to the USA without, in effect, asking the Filipinos.
If it was wrong for Spain to cede the Philippines to the U.S., without a by-your-leave, was it not wrong for the Sultan of Brunei to cede North Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu.
But these things was par for the course in the ancient past. Lands and territories were passed from one potentate to another to the detriment of the inhabitants. Land and people were treated like ranches and cattle.
That was wrong and so were the subsequent acts arising from it such as the rental claimed by the Sultan of Sulu about which the recent furor is all about.
This is the internet age; let's stop reliving the past.
