Filipinos of Malay descent

Among the Malays, the classical Philippine kingdoms also interacted with other native peoples of Indonesia, including the Minangkabau and Javanese.

Sri Lumay was born in Sumatra, an island in Indonesia with a high Malay-population, and was of mixed Malay and Tamil descent.

In the 16th century, the Islamization of the Alam Melayu (literally "Malay realm") was near-complete and its influence had spilled into the Philippines.

According to Bruneian folklore, at around 1500 Sultan Bolkiah launched a successful northward expedition to break Tondo’s monopoly as a regional entrepot of the Chinese trade and established Maynila (Selurong) across the Pasig delta, ruled by his heirs as a satellite.

[4] Bruneian influence spread elsewhere around Manila Bay, present-day Batangas, and coastal Mindoro through closer trade and political relations, with a growing overseas Kapampangan-Tagalog population based in Brunei and beyond in Malacca in various professions as traders, sailors, shipbuilders, mercenaries, governors, and slaves.

[5][6] The Sulu Archipelago was an entrepôt that attracted merchants from south China and various parts of Southeast Asia beginning in the 14th century.

[7] The name "Sulu" is attested in Chinese historical records as early as 1349,[8] during the late Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), suggesting trade relations around this time.

[8][9] The seven Arab missionaries were called "Lumpang Basih" by the Tausug, and were Sunni Sufi scholars from the Ba 'Alawi sada of Yemen.

[10] Around this time, a notable Arab judge, Sunni Sufi and religious scholar Karim ul-Makhdum[note 1] from Mecca arrived in Malacca.

José Rizal, an avid pan-Malayan nationalist spearheaded a movement to "re-unite" the natives of the archipelago with that of its southern neighbors in what would today become the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand.

Wenceslao Vinzons, a Filipino politician and guerrilla leader during World War II, was another noted pan-Malayan nationalist.

It is for this reason that definition of "Malay" in the Philippines differ from that of its southern neighbors, therefore making it difficult to get an accurate estimate of who contains descent from the actual ethnic group.

Rajah Humabon, a descendant of Sri Lumay, as well as Lakan Dula of Tondo, both converted to Catholicism and were given the names "Carlos".

Lapulapu for example is sometimes claimed to have been a Malay Muslim, though he was most probably ethnically Cebuano and his religious background most probably animist like his neighboring ruler Rajah Humabon.

[citation needed] José Rizal, the Philippines' most regarded national hero is often called the "Pride of the Malay Race".

The pride of the Malay race, a biography of José Rizal This gave rise to a political concept known as Maphilindo, a proposed confederation that would consist of Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.