Spanish–Moro conflict
The Spanish initiated the conflict by conquering the Philippines and invading Moro territory in an effort to subjugate the region to their rule since the 1500s. When the Spanish conquered the Muslim Kingdom of Maynila, a vassal of the Sultanate of Brunei, the Islamic rajah, Rajah Sulayman resisted the Spanish. Manila then became the capital of the Spanish Philippines after the conquest, with the Spanish forcibly converting people to Catholicism. The Spanish–Moro Wars started with the Castille War, a war between Spaniards and the Sultanate of Brunei. (The term "Moro" at this time included Muslim Tagalogs who were ruled by the Sultanate of Brunei).
Mampirao
During the Spanish invasion of the Philippines, stories from old folks revealed that the Spaniards are exploring every place to study, learn and try to understand the different Filipino cultures. They would frequently asked questions about something that caught their keen interests. An anecdote was told that one of the incidences that occurred during those times was about a group of Spaniards who lost their way. The place of Mampirao today was then thickly covered by forest. As they trekked along a very small path and reached at a crossroad, the Spaniards saw a native indio and consequently asked about the name of place. The indio without knowledge of the Spanish language, hence, he did not understand what the Spaniards were asking, and instead sensing that he was asked about what he was doing, he immediately responded that he was just "nagpipirao" which means "sleeping". Accordingly, the Spaniards understood that the name of the place was "Mampirao" as they have difficulty in pronouncing the world "nagpipirao".