Mohammad Ali Dimaporo

Mohammad Ali Borngao Dimaporo (June 15, 1918 – April 21, 2004) was a Filipino politician who represented the Lanao provinces in the House of Representatives of the Philippines from the 1950s to the 1990s and served as Governor of Lanao del Norte from 1960 to 1965 and of Lanao del Sur from 1976 to 1986. He was regarded as one of the most powerful Muslim politicians in the Philippines and one of the most important stalwarts of President Ferdinand Marcos in Mindanao during the martial law era.

Early life and education Mohammad Ali Borngao Dimaporo was born on June 15, 1918, to Datu Dimaporo Marahom and Potri-Maamor Borngao Marahom in Binidayan, Lanao (now a part of Lanao del Sur). His father was the sultan of Binidayan and the town's president. Dimaporo was mostly raised by his grandparents.

Military service Upon the outbreak of the Pacific theatre of the Second World War in December 1941, Dimaporo was drafted into the Philippine Army but was interned by the Japanese in Bukidnon in May 1942 following the American surrender. He was released in July 1942 after promising to assist in pacifying his fellow Maranaos but secretly assisted the guerrilla movement before taking up arms against the Japanese again in 1944.

After the war, Dimaporo joined the Philippine Constabulary and served as company commander in Malabang and Tugaya, handling the surrender of loose firearms and participating in anti-slavery operations in the area.

As a reward, Marcos appointed Dimaporo as Governor of Lanao del Sur and concurrent president of the Mindanao State University (MSU) at the height of the martial law dictatorship in 1976, following the exile of his political rivals, the Lucmans and the Alontos. During this time, he was credited with expanding the university's facilities, but was criticized for stifling dissent by students and faculty and failing to prevent abuses by the military in the province.

By the early 1980s, Dimaporo was widely acknowledged to be the most powerful politician in Mindanao. He was regarded as the only Muslim whom Marcos really trusted and the leader of his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan Party in Mindanao. He was also regarded to be the sole gatekeeper between Marcos and Mindanao's Muslims, through which their petitions to Marcos' regime passed through. and Los Angeles and amassed a private army of about 4,000 followers, which in turn grew out of the "Barracuda" militias that he helped establish in the late 1960s during the early phase of the sectarian conflict in Mindanao. and August 1987, the last of which was said to have been planned at his residence in Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City. He later managed to extricate himself by interceding in the return of abducted religious personnel in Marawi, and with the help of infighting among his opponents,

Death Dimaporo died of natural causes at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City on April 21, 2004. His remains were flown back to Mindanao and he was buried in Binidayan the following day. Abdullah married Imelda in 1977 despite Ali Dimaporo being a political rival of Imelda's father, Arsenio Quibranza. His brother-in-law, Omar Dianalan, served as mayor of Marawi.

Several of his siblings and cousins were also politicians in both Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, such as his cousin Sultan Muliloda Datumulok, who served as mayor of Binidayan, and his brothers Macacuna Dimaporo, who served as congressman of Lanao del Sur and Speaker pro tempore of the Regular Batasang Pambansa, and Sultan Naga Dimaporo, who was mayor of Karomatan.