Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
Region

Flag
Seal

Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 7°13′00″N 124°15′00″E / 7.2166666666667°N 124.25°E / 7.2166666666667; 124.25Coordinates: 7°13′00″N 124°15′00″E / 7.2166666666667°N 124.25°E / 7.2166666666667; 124.25
Country Philippines
Island group Mindanao
Regional center Cotabato City
Government
 • Regional Governor Mujiv S. Hataman (LP)
Area
 • Total 26,974 km2 (10,415 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 3,256,140
 • Density 120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC+8)
ISO 3166 code PH-14
Provinces 5
Cities 2
Municipalities 113
Barangays 2,470
Cong. districts 8
Languages Banguingui, Maguindanao, Maranao, Tagalog, Tausug, Yakan, Sama, others
Website www.armm.gov.ph

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Filipino: Awtonomong Rehiyon sa Muslim Mindanao[2]) (abbreviated ARMM) is an Autonomous region of the Philippines, located in the Mindanao island group of the Philippines, that is composed of five predominantly Muslim provinces, namely: Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. It is the only region that has its own government. The regional capital is at Cotabato City, although this city is outside of its jurisdiction.

The ARMM previously included the province of Shariff Kabunsuan until 16 July 2008, when Shariff Kabunsuan ceased to exist as a province after the Supreme Court of the Philippines declared the "Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 201", which created it, unconstitutional in Sema v. Comelec.[3]

On 7 October 2012, President Benigno Aquino III said that the government aimed to have peace in the autonomous region and that it will become known as Bangsamoro Autonomous Region,[4] a compound of bangsa (nation) and Moro.[5]

Geography

The ARMM spans two geographical areas: Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao (except Cotabato City) in south western Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan (except Isabela City), Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the Sulu Archipelago. The region covers a total of 12,288 km².[6]

History

For the most part of Philippines' history, the region and most of Mindanao have been a separate territory, which enabled it to develop its own culture and identity. The region has been the traditional homeland of Muslim Filipinos since the 15th century, even before the arrival of the Spanish who began to colonize most of the Philippines in 1565. Muslim missionaries arrived in Tawi-Tawi in 1380 and started the conversion of the native population to Islam. In 1457, the Sultanate of Sulu was founded, and not long after that the sultanates of Maguindanao and Buayan were also established. At the time when most of the Philippines was under Spanish rule, these sultanates maintained their independence and regularly challenged Spanish domination of the Philippines by conducting raids on Spanish coastal towns in the north and repulsing repeated Spanish incursions in their territory. It was not until the last quarter of the 19th century that the Sultanate of Sulu formally recognized Spanish sovereignty, but these areas remained loosely controlled by the Spanish as their sovereignty was limited to military stations and garrisons and pockets of civilian settlements in Zamboanga and Cotabato,[7] until they had to abandon the region as a consequence of their defeat in the Spanish–American War.

The Moros had a history of resistance against Spanish, American, and Japanese rule for over 400 years. The violent armed struggle against the Japanese, Filipinos, Spanish, and Americans is considered by current Moro Muslim leaders as part of the four centuries long "national liberation movement" of the Bangsamoro (Moro Nation).[8] The 400-year-long resistance against the Japanese, Americans, and Spanish by the Moro Muslims persisted and morphed into their current war for independence against the Philippine state.[9]

In 1942, during the early stages of Pacific War of the Second World War, troops of the Japanese Imperial Forces invaded and overran Mindanao and the native Moro Muslims waged an insurgency against the Japanese. Three years later, in 1945, combined United States and Philippine Commonwealth Army troops liberated Mindanao, and with the help of local guerrilla units ultimately defeated the Japanese forces occupying the region.

ARMM's precursors

In the 1970s, escalating hostilities between government forces and the Moro National Liberation Front prompted Ferdinand Marcos to issue a proclamation forming an Autonomous Region in the Southern Philippines. This was however, turned down by a plebiscite. In 1979, Batas Pambansa No. 20 created a Regional Autonomous Government in the Western and Central Mindanao regions.[10]

Establishment of the ARMM

The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao region was first created on August 1, 1989 through Republic Act No. 6734 (otherwise known as the Organic Act) in pursuance with a constitutional mandate to provide for an autonomous area in Muslim Mindanao. A plebiscite was held in the provinces of Basilan, Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Palawan, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur; and in the cities of Cotabato, Dapitan, Dipolog, General Santos, Koronadal, Iligan, Marawi, Pagadian, Puerto Princesa and Zamboanga to determine if their residents wished to be part of the ARMM. Of these areas, only four provinces - Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi - voted in favor of inclusion in the new autonomous region. The ARMM was officially inaugurated on November 6, 1990[11] in Cotabato City, which was designated as its provisional capital.

Expansion of ARMM

Prelude to Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain

In 2001 a new law, Republic A 9054, was passed for the expansion of the ARMM. In a plebiscite, Marawi City (situated within Lanao del Sur) and the province of Basilan (excluding Isabela City) opted to be integrated into the region.[12] RA 9054 lapsed into law, without the signature of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In 2006, a new province was carved out of Maguindanao: Shariff Kabunsuan, the 6th province of ARMM, joining Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan. Massive protests, however, have greeted the move of the GRP and MILF panels in signing a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain as a majority of the Local Government Units where these Barangays are connected have already opted not to join the ARMM in two instances, 1989 and 2001.

The deal

On July 18, 2008, Hermogenes Esperon, "peace advisor" to former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in his talks with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in Malaysia, revealed the planned extension of the region.[13] The deal, negotiated in secret talks with the MILF and subject to approval, would give the ARMM control of an additional 712 villages on the south west portion of Mindanao, as well as broad political and economic powers.[13]

Challenge on MOA-AD

Main article: Sema v. COMELEC

On July 16, 2008 Sema v. COMELEC voided the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan, declaring unconstitutional a section in RA 9054 which granted the ARMM Regional Assembly the power to create provinces and cities. Then, on August 4, 2008, after local officials from North Cotabato asked the Court to block the signing of the agreement between GRP and MILF, the Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order against the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Philippine government and the MILF rebels in Malaysia.[14] Several lawmakers had filed petitions with the Supreme Court to stop the Philippine government from concluding the MOA-AD due to lack of transparency and for MILF's failure to cut ties with the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah, which aims to establish a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia using MILF camps in south western Mindanao as training grounds and staging points for attacks.[15]

On October 14, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, by a vote of 8–7, declared “contrary to law and the Constitution” the Ancestral Domain Aspect (MOA-AD) of the Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001 between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).[16][17] The 89-page decision, written by Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales ruled: “In sum, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the pertinent consultation process, as mandated by EO No. 3, RA 7160, and RA 8371. The furtive process by which the MOA-AD was designed and crafted runs contrary to and in excess of the legal authority, and amounts to a whimsical, capricious, oppressive, arbitrary and despotic exercise thereof. It illustrates a gross evasion of positive duty and a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined.”[18][19][20]

Aftermath

Demographics

Coastal village in Basilan
Population census of ARMM
YearPop.±%
1990 2,108,061—    
2000 2,803,045+33.0%
2010 3,256,140+16.2%
Source: National Statistics Office[1]

Comparisons

Body Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Bangsamoro Autonomous Region  Philippines (Central Government only)
Constitutional Document ARMM Organic Act (Republic Act No. 6734) Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Constitution of the Philippines
Head of State / Territory Regional Governor Chief Minister President of the Philippines
Head of Government Regional Governor Chief Minister
Executive ARMM Executive Department Bangsamoro Cabinet Executive Departments of the Philippines
Legislative Regional Legislative Assembly Bangsamoro Parliament Bicameral: Senate and Congress
Judiciary None (under Philippine government) To be determined (Planned) Supreme Court
Legal Supervisory
or Prosecution		 None (under Philippine government) Planned (before 2016) Department of Justice
Police Force(s) Philippine National Police;
under the Central Government		 Philippine National Police
Military Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP);
under the Central Government		 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
Currency Philippine peso Philippine peso
Official Language(s) Filipino and English Filipino and English
Foreign relations None full rights
Shariah law Yes, for Muslims only None, secular law

Political divisions

Political map of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
Province Capital Area
(km²) 		Population
(2010)[1] 		Population density
(per km²)
Basilana Isabela Cityb
1,145.3[21]
293,322
256.1
Lanao del Sur Marawi
3,872.9[22]
933,260
241.0
Maguindanaoc Shariff Aguak
5,970.5[23]
944,718
158.2
Sulu Jolo
1,600.4[24]
718,290
448.8
Tawi-Tawi Bongao
1,087.4[25]
366,550
337.1

NOTES:

Government

ARMM organizational structure

The Office of the Bangsamoro People, the seat of the ARMM regional government in Cotabato City[26]

Executive

The region is headed by a Regional Governor. The Regional Governor and Regional Vice Governor are elected directly like regular local executives. Regional ordinances are created by the Regional Assembly, composed of Assemblymen, also elected by direct vote. Regional elections are usually held one year after general elections (national and local) depending on what legislation from the Philippine Congress. Regional officials have a fixed term of three years, which can be extended by an act of Congress.

The Regional Governor is the chief executive of the regional government, and is assisted by a cabinet not exceeding 10 members. He appoints the members of the cabinet, subject to confirmation by the Regional Legislative Assembly. He has control of all the regional executive commissions, agencies, boards, bureaus and offices.

Executive council

The executive council advises the Regional Governor on matters of governance of the autonomous region. It is composed of the regional governor, 1 regional vice governor, and 3 deputy regional governors (each representing the Christians, the Muslims, and the indigenous cultural communities). The regional governor and regional vice governor have a 3-year term, maximum of 3 terms; deputies' terms are coterminous with the term of the regional governor who appointed them.

Term Governor Party Vice Governor Party
1990–1993
 Zacaria Candao Lakas-NUCD Benjamin Loong Lakas-NUCD
1993–1996
 Lininding Pangandaman Lakas-NUCD-UMDP Nabil Tan Lakas-NUCD-UMDP
1996–2001
 Nurallaj Misuari Lakas-NUCD-UMDP Guimid P. Matalam Lakas-NUCD-UMDP
2001
 Alvarez Isnajia Lakas-NUCD-UMDP
2001–2005
 Parouk S. Hussin Lakas-NUCD-UMDP Mahid M. Mutilan Lakas-NUCD-UMDP
2005–2009
 Zaldy Ampatuan Lakas Kampi CMD Ansaruddin-Abdulmalik A. Adiong Lakas Kampi CMD
2009–2011
 Ansaruddin-Abdulmalik A. Adionga Lakas Kampi CMD Reggie M. Sahali-Generalea Lakas Kampi CMD
2011–Present
 Mujiv S. Hatamanb Liberal Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman IIb Liberal
^a Acting capacity
^b Officer-in-charge until June 30, 2013.

Legislative

The ARMM has a unicameral Regional Legislative Assembly headed by a Speaker. It is composed of three members for every congressional district. The current membership is 24, where 6 are from Lanao del Sur including Marawi City, 6 from Maguindanao, 6 from Sulu, 3 from Basilan and 3 from Tawi-Tawi.

The Regional Legislative Assembly is the legislative branch of the ARMM government. The regular members (3 members/district) and sectoral representatives, have 3-year terms; maximum of 3 consecutive terms. It exercises legislative power in the autonomous region, except on the following matters: foreign affairs, national defense and security, postal service, coinage and fiscal and monetary policies, administration of justice, quarantine, customs and tariff, citizenship, naturalization, immigration and deportation, general auditing, national elections, maritime, land and air transportation, communications, patents, trademarks, trade names and copyrights, foreign trade, and may legislate on matters covered by the Shari’ah, the law governing Muslims.

ARMM powers and basic principles

RA 9054 provides that ARMM "shall remain an integral and inseparable part of the national territory of the Republic." The President exercises general supervision over the Regional Governor. The Regional Government has the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees, and charges, subject to Constitutional provisions and the provisions of RA 9054. The Shariah applies only to Muslims; its applications are limited by pertinent constitutional provisions (prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment).[10]

Provincial Governors

ARMM voter registration

On June 16, 2012, the registration of 1,778,817 voters of the municipalities/cities in the ARMM was voided by a joint resolution of both Houses of Congress and approved by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. The joint resolution mentioned the “presence of hundreds of thousands of illegal and fictitious registrants in the ARMM which needs to be deleted.”[27]

Economy

The region is one of the most impoverished areas in the Philippines. It has a per capita gross regional domestic product of only PhP3,433 in 2005, 75.8 percent lower than the national average of PhP14,186. It is the lowest among the Philippines' 17 regions, the second lowest region has a per capita income almost double the ARMM's.[28] ARMM has a population of 4.1 million based on the 2007 census. It is the country's poorest region, where average annual income was just 89,000 pesos ($2,025) in 2006, less than 1/3 of Manila level.[29]

Poverty incidence in the region is a high 45.4 percent in 2003, almost twice the national average of 24.4 percent. Significant progress has been made in reducing poverty in the region, which was reduced by 10.5 percent from the 2000 figure, only the Caraga region has a higher poverty incidence in 2003. Lanao del Sur reduced its povery incidence by as much as 26.9 percent, placing itself as the 12th most successful province in poverty reduction. Tawi-Tawi and Sulu have reduced their figures by 18 and 17.6 percent, respectively. In 2000, all the four provinces of the ARMM were among the 10 poorest in the Philippines. By 2003, Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were out of the bottom 10, leaving only Maguindanao, which remains to be the second poorest or the second with the highest incidence of poverty among the Philippines' provinces.[30][31]

Province Poverty Incidence
2003 2000
Percent Ranka Percent Rankb
Basilancd
33.5
40
31.5
31
Lanao del Sur
37.6
56
54.7
73
Maguindanaoe
60.4
78
59.3
76
Sulu
45.1
67
58.9
75
Tawi-Tawi
34.6
49
52.4
70
^a 79 provinces in 2003.
^b 77 provinces with data in 2000.
^c Not yet part of the ARMM in 2000. 2000 figures include Isabela City.
^d 2003 figures exclude Isabela City.
^e Figures include Shariff Kabunsuan, exclude Cotabato City.

Despite the autonomy, ARMM receives approximately 98% of its operating revenue from the National Government of the Philippines, and has yet to create significant, viable sources of additional revenue. Perhaps for this reason, the per capita spending on such vital services as education and infrastructure are among the lowest in the Philippines, and the five provinces of the ARMM continue to be ranked consistently on the lower rungs of economic development within the country. The per student expenditure on education, for example, is less than $100, with the result that students within ARMM schools generally score poorly, in comparison with other provinces, on standardized achievement tests administered throughout the country.

ARMM is one of the country's top producers of fish and marine resources, particularly seaweed, which is used in some toothpastes, cosmetics and paints. It has large mineral deposits, including copper and gold.[29]

Cultural heritage

The native Maguindanaon and other native Muslim/non-Muslim groups have a culture that revolves around kulintang music, a specific type of gong music, found among both Muslim and non-Muslim groups of the Southern Philippines.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Population and Annual Growth Rates for The Philippines and Its Regions, Provinces, and Highly Urbanized Cities" (PDF). 2010 Census and Housing Population. National Statistics Office. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Panukalang Batas Blg. 4494.
  3. ↑ Llanto, Jesus F. (17 July 2008) "Supreme Court voids creation of Shariff Kabunsuan" ABS-CBN News
  4. ↑ "Govt reaches deal with MILF to end rebellion". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Bangsamoro reframes the Muslim-Filipino identity". Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  6. ↑ abs-cbnnews.com/storypage, Quick facts on the ARMM polls, by MANNY MOGATO, Reuters
  7. ↑ Mindanao Peace Process, Fr. Eliseo R. Mercado, Jr., OMI.
  8. ↑ Banlaoi 2012, p. 24.
  9. ↑ Banlaoi 2005, p. 68.
  10. 1 2 "ARMM history and organization". GMA News Online. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao". United Nations. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  12. ↑ Republic Act No. 9054, Philippine Congress.
  13. 1 2 "Philippines Muslim area to expand". BBC News. July 17, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Errorpage - ABS-CBN News". Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  15. ↑ SENATORS: GOVT FAILED TO CUT TIES OF MILF W/ TERROR NETWORK JI (August 26, 2008)
  16. ↑ Agreement on peace between the government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, June 22, 2001.
  17. ↑ MoA with MILF unconstitutional - SC, Manila Bulletin, October 15, 2008.
  18. ↑ SC Declares MOA-AD Unconstitutional, Manila Bulletin, October 15, 2008.
  19. ↑ abs-cbnnews, Palace loses ancestral domain case with 8-7 SC vote
  20. ↑ "SC: MILF deal unconstitutional - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos". Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  21. ↑ Province of Basilan: Land Area
  22. ↑ Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Department of Agriculture: Lanao del Sur
  23. ↑ Provincial Government of Maguindanao: Brief Profile
  24. ↑ Province of Sulu: Brief Profile
  25. ↑ Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Department of Agriculture: Tawi-Tawi
  26. ↑ Office of the Bangsamoro People inaugurated | The Manila Times
  27. ↑ Aquino, Leslie Anne G. (17 June 2012). "ARMM Voters’ List Now Void". mb.com.ph. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  28. ↑ 2005 Gross Regional Domestic Product-Per Capita, National Statistical Coordination Board.
  29. 1 2 abs-cbnnews.com/storypage, Quick facts on the ARMM polls, by MANNY MOGATO, Reuters
  30. ↑ Which provinces did best in reducing poverty?, National Statistical Coordination Board.
  31. ↑ Poverty Statistics : Table 1. Annual Per Capita Poverty Thresholds, Poverty Incidence and Magnitude of Poor Families: 2000 and 2003, National Statistical Coordination Board.

External links

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