Domocao Alonto

Ahmad Domocao "Domie" Alangadi Alonto (August 1, 1914 – December 11, 2002) was a Muslim-Filipino lawyer, educator, author, traditional leader, and Islamic figure from Lanao del Sur.

Dr. Domocao Alonto was born on August 1, 1914, in Ditsaan-Ramain, Lanao del Sur.

He was the eldest son of the six children of Senator Sultan Alauya Alonto of Ramain and Bai Hajja Amina Bariga Alangadi, a sixth-generation descendant of Sultan Muhammad Kudarat of Maguindanao.

At an early age, he was tutored by his mother on the fundamentals of Islam.

He then attended a government school in Lanao from 1921 to 1931 for his primary and secondary education.

He earned his Fellowship in Arts, BA, and Doctorate in Law at the University of the Philippines in Manila, where he was also a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity.

He passed the Bar Examination in 1938.

His siblings - Hadja Naima Alonto; Abdul Ghafur Madki Alonto; Masiding Alonto, Sr.; Tarhata Alonto-Lucman, and Madrigal Alonto - were all prominent leaders in Lanao during the latter half of the 20th century.

Abdul Ghafur Madki Alonto served as Governor and Ambassador, and Tarhata Alonto served as Governor.

His Brother-in-Law, Bae Tarhata's husband Rashid Lucman also served as Congressman.

Alonto started working as a classroom teacher in Lanao del Sur.

He then became a confidential writer for the National Information Board and the Department of the Interior.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines (1942–1945), Alonto served as the municipal mayor of Dansalan (now Marawi City).

He then became the governor of Lanao Province during the caretaker government under Japanese rule.

While serving under the Japanese government, Alonto secretly supported the underground resistance movement against the Japanese.

The Japanese authorities did not harbor any suspicion towards him since he occupied key positions in their government.

It was during this time that he was able to have a broader grasp of the state of Maranao society in general.

After the war, he was appointed as Presidential Assistant and Adviser to the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines from 1947 to 1948.

After World War II, Hadji Kamlon launched a bloody upheaval against government forces which lasted for eight years ending in 1952.

Alonto was first elected representative of Lanao del Sur in 1953.

During his term, he chaired a Special Committee created by the House of Representatives to find a definite solution to the so-called "Mindanao Problem".

In 1954, he founded the Mindanao Islamic University (Jāmīatu al-Fīlībbīn al-Islāmi), the first Islamic university in the Philippine archipelago.

Growing tensions between Muslims and Christian over land attracted the national interest of which a Special Committee in 1954 was constituted by Congress.

The Committee, also known as the "Alonto Committee" was composed of Lanao Congressman, Domocao Alonto as chairman, Cotabato Congressman Luminog Mangelen, and Sulu Congressman Ombra Amilbangsa.

The Committee concluded that "the Moros must be made to feel that they were an integral part of the Philippine nation and this aim must be achieved through a comprehensive approach covering economic, social, moral political, and educational developments".

The conclusion reached by the Special Committee paved the way for the creation of the Commission on National Integration (CNI); Mindanao Development Authority (MDA); and Mindanao State University (MSU).

From 1955 to 1961, he served as a member of the Senate under the Nacionalista Party.

During his term, he authored the bills establishing the Mindanao Development Authority, the Mindanao State University (MSU), the law providing for more autonomous local governments in relatively backward rural areas, and the law creating the Commission on National Integration.

In 1955, a meeting of non-aligned nations who refused to partake in the Cold War was held in Bandung, Indonesia.

Along with Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Romulo, Domocao Alonto was the only Muslim delegate from the Philippines.

It was in this meeting that he met Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Sukarno of Indonesia, and Tungku Abdul Rahman of Malaysia.

His participation in the conference enabled him to establish linkages and contacts in the Middle East.

Alonto also amended the Civil Service Law of 1959, recognizing the Islamic holidays ‘Īid al-Fitr and ‘Īid al-Adhā.

Alonto also authored the law (enacted as Republic Act No. 2228) dividing the old Lanao Province into Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

Each province was provided with congressional representatives.

As a legislator, he advocated for the understanding between Muslim Filipinos and their Christian brothers and preached for non-violence and peaceful coexistence.

He was also a strong advocate for the passage of nationalization laws and co-authored the Retail Nationalization Law, subsequently defending it from repeal until incontrovertible proof was shown that the law was adverse to the national interest.

He served as a Senator of the Philippines and was elected as a delegate in the 1971 Constitutional Convention and 1986 Philippine Constitutional Commission.

At the onset of World War II, he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Philippine Army, 81st Division, United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).

In 1988, he was awarded with the prestigious King Faisal Prize for Service to Islam.