Morobeats’ ‘Teritoryo’ a hit at sea concert

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May 30, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — They may be unheard of to many, but when the rap group Morobeats took to the stage aboard the MV Kapitan Felix Oca during the “Concert at Sea” of the Atin Ito coalition’s third civilian mission in the West Philippine Sea, the group became an instant hit.

Throughout the five-day journey to Pag-asa Island, Morobeats would send volunteers, members of the media, other performers, and even the ship’s crew into frenzied dancing and singing whenever they performed their single, “Teritoryo.”

“Teritoryo naming ‘to, ba’t kayo nandito? Sobrang dami na naming ibinigay,” the rap song’s chorus loudly declares.

The rap song also touches on the violent June 2024 confrontation between Philippine Navy personnel and members of the China Coast Guard during a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. During the confrontation, a soldier lost his thumb trying to stop the Chinese from taking the supplies they were carrying.

The Chinese were seen in videos of the incident armed with bolos, spears and knives which they used to threaten Philippine Navy personnel and destroy their rubber boats and equipment.

Morobeats was founded in Mindanao in 2014 by beat maker Mohammed “DJ Medmessiah” Bansil. The group currently has 12 active members composed of 10 boys and two girls mostly in their teens or early 20s.

James “JMARA” Marasigan Capistrano, the voice behind Teritoryo’s powerful chorus, said he is both happy and sad that their song became a hit during the Atin Ito mission.

“Sad because the message we’re trying to send out has not reached many of our countrymen who still see our work in a negative light,” he told The STAR in Filipino.

“But we’re happy because we’re able to share with them our message that what we’re dealing here is real – and that we’re fighting for something,” he added.

He said “Teritoryo” was written when there was an escalation of Chinese incursions and acts of aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

“That’s when we got the inspiration to write a song so we can spread among Filipinos our message that we own our seas,” he added.

Atin Ito co-convenor and Akbayan party president Rafaela David said their third civilian mission was “a people-powered campaign activity against aggressors in the West Philippine Sea,” and was meant to promote peace and solidarity through music.

Morobeats was only one of many local and foreign artists who joined Atin Ito’s first ever concert at sea.

Morobeats, meanwhile, vowed to continue making socially relevant music as part of their efforts to remind both the young and the old that love of country can be expressed through music.

The other performers at Atin Ito’s concert at sea were folksinger Noel Cabangon, Ebe Dancel, the all-female band Rouge, the Korean girl group I:Mond, Japanese artist Fumi, Malaysian artist Viona, Indonesian singer Kai Mata and the Pinoy Pop group HORI7ZON.