In his 1959 book Someday, Malaysia, Major Abdul Latif Martelino (later operations officer in the infamous Jabidah massacre) also cited the vision of President Manuel L. Quezon for an integrated, pan-Malayan nation in the region.

[2] Maphilindo was initially proposed as a realization of Filipino national hero Dr. José Rizal's dream of uniting the Malay peoples, seen as artificially divided by colonial frontiers.

In July 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal, convened a summit in Manila where the three countries signed a series of agreements to resolve controversies over the former British colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak joining Malaysia.

[3] While the union was described as a regional association that would approach issues of common concern, it was also perceived as a tactic employed by the Philippines and Indonesia to hinder the formation of the Federation of Malaysia as Malaya's successor state.

[2] The union was dismantled a month later[4] when Sukarno, President of Indonesia, adopted a policy of Konfrontasi (Indonesian, "confrontation") with the newly constituted Malaysia.