IAG One People Mindanao

JULY - AUGUST 2017

ISSN 2243-8173-17-04

Atty. Randolph Parcasio

Editor’s note: This is the second of our two-part series from IAG’s roundtable
Policy Brief
discussion on “Bangsamoro Right to Self-determination: Design Options Under a
Federal Set-up” (Davao City, 2 March 2017). We hear from Atty. Randolph Parcasio
of Kilos Pederal sa Pagbabago two proposals on how to use autonomy and
federalism as tools to pursue the Bangsamoro aspiration for self-governance. Here,
he presents two concepts: 1) A Bangsamoro autonomous government within a
Mindanao federal state as proposed by Kilos Pederal sa Pagbabago (KPP), and 2)
One Mindanao regional federal state with all the characteristics of an autonomous
government as contemplated in the GPH-MNLF-OIC peace agreements.

THE KPP PROPOSAL: BANGSAMORO AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENT WITHIN A

MINDANAO FEDERAL STATE

T
his is a federal proposal wherein the Bangsamoro Autonomous Government
will exist within the Mindanao Federal State:

There will be a national federal government with five regional federal

governments. The configuration will look like this:

1. Mindanao Federal State that includes MINSUPALA (Mindanao, Sulu and

Palawan)
2. Visayas Federal State
3. Northern Luzon Federal State
4. Southern Luzon Federal State
5. Metro Manila

Focus: Mindanao

For Mindanao Federal State, we propose that it will have these powers:

1. State/local election;
2. State Civil Service;
3. State justice-

This Policy Brief is published bimonthly. Editor: Benedicto

R. Bacani. Associate Editor: Ramie P. Toledo. Lay-out Artist:
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 a) State Court of Appeals and Shariah Appelate Court
b) Regional trial Courts,
c) Metropolitan trial Courts,
d) City Circuit Trial Courts
e) Municipal Circuit Trial Courts, and
f) Existing Sharia district Courts and Sharia Circuit Trial Courts
g) Tribal Courts.
4. Establishment and operation of public transportation;
5. Licensure of public utilities;
6. State socio-economic planning;
7. State finance-taxation, customs
8. Budget, audit and others
9. Partnership aid to local governments;
10. Agriculture;
11. Forestry;
12. Fisheries;
13. Environment, natural resources, Solid waste management/ sanitary land fill;
14. Ancestral lands, ancestral domains and agrarian reform;
15. Industrial development;
16. Mining;
17. Waterworks;
18. Administration and enforcement of State laws and programs;
19. health
20. Civil and Criminal Courts in Provinces, Cities and Municipalities with Majority Muslim
Population.
21. Education (basic education, secondary education, and State higher education);
22. Labor and Employment;
23. Tourism;
24. Trade and Industry
25. Science and Technology;
26. Regional Budget, Local government and Finance
27. Social welfare;
28. Ancestral Rights and Cultural Heritage
29. Sports development
30. Regional and local language development ;
31. Regional Transportation;
32. Police, public safety, law and housing
33. Cooperative , Land Use and housing
34. Regional Public Works and Highways,
35. Entertainment and amusement;
36. Personal Laws of Muslims and Tribal Laws for Christianized and Non-Christianized
and Non Islamized Native Inhabitants of Mindanao
37. Offences against laws with respect to any matters in this List;
38. General Welfare.

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 The national government on the other hand will have the following exclusive powers:

1. National security, defense, declaration of war;

2. Foreign relations,
3. Currency/Monetary system;
4. External trade/Commence;
5. Citizenship;
6. Civil rights/Political Rights
7. Immigration, emigration, extradition; inter-State migration, inter-State migration,
inter-state quarantine;
8. Suffrage;
9. Federal Civil Service;
10. Administration of justice:
a) Supreme Court
b) Court of Appeals
c) Tribunal of Intergovernmental
d) relations;
11. Legal Codes;
12. Inter-state trade and commerce;
13. Postal and telecommunications
14. Transportation promotions and regulation of air, sea, land transportation;
15. National socio-economic planning;
16. National finance:
a. Taxation,
b. Customs,
c. National budget,
d. Audit;
17. Regulation of the press and media;
18. Social security:
a) Unemployment,
b) Sickness,
c) Old age;
19. Protection of intellectual property , property rights, and copyrights;
20. Meteorology and standard;
21. Standards of weights and measures;
22. Time regulation;
23. Partnership aid to the states;
24. Research and development in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, environment and natural
resources, industrial development;
25. Census, surveys and statistics;
26. Borrowing money on the public credit of the Federation;
27. Conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes
extending beyond the limits of any one State;
28. Defining and punishing piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and
offenses against the Law of Nations;

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 29. Establishment , management and maintenance of penitentiaries;
30. Social insurance institutions whose sphere of competence extends beyond the
territory of one state;
31. Cloning/genetics research and engineering:
32. Offences against laws with respect to any matters in this List.
33. National parks existing before the ratification of the constitution.

The concurrent powers or powers shared between the national government and the regional federal
states are the following:

1. Administration and enforcement of Federal laws and programs:

2. National/state elections:
3. Health;
4. Education ( Federal standard setting for and regulations of education; standard setting
for and assistance to basic education and secondary education);
5. Social welfare;
6. Cultural development;
7. Sports development;
8. National Language development;
9. Public safety/Law enforcement;
10. Environmental protection and National parks existing before the ratification of the
federal constitution.
11. Tourism;
12. Population management;
13. Labor/trade unions;
14. Science and technology promotion;
15. Common infrastructure-
16. National power grid;
17. Roads,
18. Highways,
19. Airports,
20. Seaports,
21. Railways;
22. Mental health;
23. Price control;
24. Drainage, sewerage, and irrigation,
25. Fire safety measures and fire precautions in the construction and maintenance of
buildings;
26. Laws relating to weapons and explosives;
27. Prevention of abuse of economic power;
28. Energy Co-Management (in the MNLF track, there is an agreement for co-
management/sharing or revenues)

Under this proposal, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Government (BAG) shall be part of the regional
federal government of Mindanao. It will be governed in accordance with the provisions of a Bangsamoro

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 autonomy law. The Bangsamoro autonomy law shall be in accordance with the GPH-MNLF-OIC 1996
Final Peace Agreement (FPA), pertinent provisions of RA 9054 as amended in accordance with GPH-
MNLF-OIC Tripartite Review, and provisions that will expand and strengthen autonomous powers
resulting from the ongoing GPH-MNLF-OIC peace track trough the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro (CAB) and the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

The exclusive powers of this proposed BAG within a Mindanao federal state will be:

1. Regional and local elections
2. Regional civil service
3. Regional federal government justice, particularly sharia appellate court, provincial
sharia court and municipal sharia court, including tribal courts
4. Establishment and operation of public transportation
5. Licensure of public utilities operating within the Bangsamoro
6. Bangsamoro socio-economic planning
7. Bangsamoro finance, taxation, customs and budget audit

And practically all powers exercised by the regional federal state, such as

a) Agriculture, forestry, fisheries

b) Environment, natural resources, ancestral lands
c) Agrarian reform
d) Industrial development
e) Mining
f) Waterworks
g) LGU administration, enforcement of Bangsamoro laws and programs
h) Health
i) Education
j) Labor and employment
k) Tourism
l) Trade and industry
m) Science and technology
n) Bangsamoro budget, local government and finance
o) Social welfare
p) Ancestral lands and cultural heritage
q) Sports development
r) Bangsamoro and local language development
s) Transportation
t) Special Regional Security Force
u) Cooperatives
v) Land use and housing
w) Public works and highways
x) Entertainment and amusement
y) Civil and criminal laws for Muslims

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 `The concurrent and shared powers between the national government and regional federal
government shall also constitute as common and shared powers with the BAG.

Timeframe and mechanism

The Bangsamoro enabling law or new autonomy law shall be passed and ratified before the
ratification or adoption of a new federal constitution. The federal constitution shall ensure and shall
entrench upon the establishment of the federal republic the BAG and shall ensure that this government
shall continue to be governed by its organic act/basic law or enabling law existing before the ratification
of a new federal constitution. As such, it shall continue to exercise the exclusive and concurrent powers
vested upon it by the basic law. To avoid any instance wherein there might be any cases like Sema v
Dilangalen , we must see to it that whatever the result of the peace process that is now ongoing, the
basic law that will be passed by Congress and ratified by the people must be planted into the new federal
constitution to ensure that there will be no diminution of Bangsamoro powers.

This proposal is made to rectify historical injustices. All citizens residing within the Bangsamoro
region shall be eligible to be elected or appointed as officials of the original Bangsamoro homeland
(MINSUPALA). It shall also recognize royalty and nobility, as well as historic title to ancestral land and
domain. Sharia courts and Christianized and Non-Christianized and Non-Islamized tribal and civil courts
shall be established.

Government agencies and institutions respecting the cultural heritage and religions of all Islamized,
Christianized, and Non-Christianized indigenous peoples, existing institutions in the likes of National
Commission for Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) shall
continue to operate under a new mandate in accordance with existing laws after the establishment of a
new federal republic.

Intergovernmental relations

The relationship between the National Government and Bangsamoro Autonomous Government
shall be asymmetric. This is reflective of the recognition of their Bangsamoro identity and their aspiration
for self-governance. This makes it distinct from all the other regional federal governments.

The national federal government, regional federal government and Bangsamoro government
shall be guided by the principles of parity of esteem and accepted norms of good governance. The
exercise of competencies and exclusive powers of the Bangsamoro government shall be respected. The
Bangsamoro government shall respect the exercise of the competencies and reserved powers of the
regional government.

General supervision

Consistent with the principles of autonomy and the asymmetric relations of the national federal
government, the regional federal government and the Bangsamoro government, the regional federal
governor/federal state governor shall exercise supervision over the head of the Bangsamoro Autonomous
Government to ensure that laws are faithfully executed.

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 Intergovernmental relations

There shall be intergovernmental relations mechanisms. The national federal government,

regional federal government and Bangsamoro government shall establish a mechanism at the highest
levels that will coordinate and harmonize their relationships. For this purpose, the primary mechanism
shall be the national federal government on one side, the regional federal government on the other,
and the BAG in an intergovernmental regional body to resolve issues on intergovernmental relations.
All issues and disputes relating to intergovernmental relations shall be resolved through regular
consultations and continuing negotiations in a non-adversarial manner.

The intergovernmental relations bodies shall exhaust all means to resolve all issues brought
before it. Unresolved issues shall be elevated to the president or regional federal head as the case may
be.

There shall be a national federal legislative and Bangsamoro legislative forum and regional
federal legislative and Bangsamoro legislative forum for purposes of coordination of legislative
initiatives.

There shall be, as already legislated but not implemented, Bangsamoro participation in central
government. It shall be the policy of the national government to appoint competent and qualified
inhabitants of the Bangsamoro in the following offices in the national government:

• At least one cabinet secretary

• At least one in each of the other departments, offices and bureaus holding
executive, primarily confidential, highly technical policy determining positions, and
• One commissioner in each of the constitutional bodies (if they still exist under a
new federal constitution)

Bangsamoro government and its constituent local government units

The provinces, cities and municipalities, barangays and geographical areas within the territory
of the Bangsamoro shall be the constituent units of the Bangsamoro. The authority to regulate on its
own responsibility the affairs of these local government bodies is guaranteed within the limit of the
organic act/basic law and in accordance with the Bangsamoro local government code.

Taxes and revenue sharing

Individuals shall pay their taxes in their residences or where they are employed or operate
their businesses as the case may be.

Business corporations and large taxpayers shall pay in the provinces or cities where they operate
their businesses within the Bangsamoro. All revenues derived from the exploitation, utilization and
development of natural resources shall be paid within the provinces or cities where they are situated.
75% of all revenues, taxes, customs, tariff and other charges shall be retained by the Bangsamoro
government. 20% and 5% shall be remitted to the regional federal government and national federal
government, respectively.

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 THE OTHER PROPOSAL: ONE MINDANAO FEDERAL STATE

This proposal envisions a one-people Mindanao federal government as one of the five federal
governments that shall be established. It proceeds from what the historical fact that the Bangsamoro
quest for right to self-determination really started with the struggle for independence of the Bangsamoro
people. The Bangsamoro homeland consists of the islands of MINSUPALA.

Under the MNLF perspective, the Moro people compose the IPs of MINSUPALA and their
descendants who were Islamized, Christianized and those who retained their ancient faiths, including
migrants and their descendants. Under the MNLF perspective, the Moro is synonymous with Mindanaoan.

Sovereign Moro states existed prior to colonization. The people had a government, their king was
even accorded with formalities befitting a head of state.

But here comes the law that originated from the 1935 Constitution (Section 9, Article III, Bill
of Rights), also in the 1973 Constitution (Section 10, Article IV, Bill of Rights), and now in the 1987
Constitution (Section 31, Article VI, Bill of Rights) that says, “No law granting a title of royalty or nobility
shall be enacted”.

My Malaysian friends would say, “why do you want to claim Sabah when you state that it belongs
to the Sultanate of Sulu when your government and Constitution does not recognize the sultanate
royalties of Sulu?”

This provision is understandable because this originated in the American constitution as a rebuke
against the royalties where they came from. This took place as a result of colonization.

The root of conflict in Mindanao is the annexation of MINSUPALA, the Bangsamoro homeland, to
the Philippines by imperialist America and neo-colonial Philippines.

This is no less expressed in a speech by President Manuel Quezon on 16 June 1936 when he said,
“the time has come when we should systematically proceed with and bring about the colonization and
economic development of Mindanao.”

As a result there was Moro resistance. To cite a few: the Panglimas Hasan and Maharadja Andung
in Sulu, the Datus of Maciu, Binidayan, and Taraca in Lanao, the Datu Ali in Cotabato, and the leaders of
the Footmen Uprising in Palawan.

In 1920, datus of Lanao, with thirty sultans signed a strongly worded letter, popularly known as
“Dansalan Declaration” to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and the United States Congress demanding
that the Filipinos should be granted independence separate from the independence of Moro.

On 1 May 1968, the provincial governor of Cotabato, Datu Udtog Matalam, in a dramatic
move, issued the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) manifesto calling for the independence
of Mindanao and Sulu to be known and referred to as the Republic of Mindanao and Sulu. Matalam

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 is considered the father of the Moro secession movement, which spawned major organizations led
by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and, subsequently, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF).

Following the Jabidah Massacre of March 18, 1968, the MNLF was established by young
militant Moro students, political leaders and the Moro grassroots led by one of its founding leaders
Prof. Nur Misuari. This signaled the political and armed struggle to decolonize the Moro homeland
from the Philippine “neo-colonial rule”.

MIM Chairman Reuben Canoy, a non-Muslim freedom fighter who peacefully struggled for
Mindanao peace, justice and independence from Philippine colonialism, always emphasized: “For both
Muslim and Christian settlers, ultimate justice is regaining lost independence and self-determination,
the basic human rights to decide their own future, whether both or separately.”

The latest of these movements is One People Mindanao (OPM), a movement of Mindanaoans
advocating for independence of Mindanao in 2003-2004 supported by government officials, students,
MNLF, civil society, former military officials, indigenous peoples and academicians.

Background: Jeddah Accord

On 3 January 1987, Chairman Nur Misuari for the MNLF and Aquilino Pimentel for the GPH
signed the Jeddah Accord, wherein it was agreed, among others, to “create a Joint Commission which
will discuss and draft the mechanism and details of the proposal for the grant of full autonomy to
Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan subject to democratic processes. The Joint Commission
shall be composed of three members from each panel and shall initially meet in Manila on February
9, 1987. It shall endeavor to complete its work within 90 days from said date.”

“Democratic processes” also means amending the Constitution. It does not only mean
operating within the Constitution, because this cannot be implanted without constitutional change.

The response of the government to the clamor for autonomy is provided in Section 5, Article
X of the 1987 Constitution, which states that the autonomous regions shall “consist of the provinces,
cities, municipalities and geographical areas sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural
heritage, economic and social structure and other relevant characteristics.”

The 1987 Constitutional Commission crafted this phrase, which resulted to where we are now.
For this to materialize, there was a need to craft an enabling law. That enabling law was, unfortunately,
RA 6734. The MNLF, citing the infirmities of the law, did not agree to RA 6734. On the basis of Jeddah
Accord, it reiterated that MINSUPALA is composed of one people.

Federal State of Mindanao

The proposal for a federal state of Mindanao is based on the centuries old demand for the
right to self-determination. In 1998, the MNLF launched the Mindanao peace caravan to campaign for
the adoption of a federal form of government, proposing four federal states at that time: Mindanao,
Visayas, Metro Manila and Luzon.

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 These are the historical bases for a federal state of Mindanao:

1. Precolonial Mindanao consisted a) Sultanate of Maguindanao; b) Buayan Sultanate;

and c) Apat na Pangampong in Lanao ; and d) Sultanate of Sulu
2. Mindanao was MORO PROVINCE;
3. The Declaration of Mindanao Independence of Datu Udtog Matalam;
4. The war for independence of the MNLF;
5. 1987 MNLF-GRP Jeddah Accord
6. MNLF Mindanao Agenda- 1998 Mindanao Peace Caravan
7. The Mindanao Independent Movement led by Reuben Canoy;
8. Movement for Independence by One People Mindanao (OPM).

Federal state as a peace formula

To address the demand for self-determination and to finally settle the Mindanao problem, the
federal state of Mindanao shall have the powers and authority as provided in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement,
1996 Final Peace Agreement, RA 9054, and Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro. As far as
practicable, the same powers may also be applicable to the other federal states of the federal republic.

The federal and state governments have their own legislative, executive, administrative and judicial
systems which function within their own jurisdiction.

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 Under a Mindanao federal state, there will be provinces, cities and municipalities with
Muslim majority where Sharia civil and criminal law will be implemented. Under RA 9054 a criminal
law applicable to Muslims can now be legislated by the regional assembly. In addition, the regional
assembly under the existing law can also establish Sharia courts in the provinces and cities that shall
have jurisdiction over civil and criminal law affecting Muslims, and there could be special law for
Muslims where they are a majority within the Mindanao federal state.

There shall also be tribal laws/tribal courts which will be implemented in cities, municipalities
and geographical areas where the native inhabitants who are not Islamized or Christianized are the
majority.

The Mindanao federal state will have historical justness. It shall recognize the sultanates and
tribal royalty. The entire Bangsamoro people who are Islamized residing in majority Muslim cities,
municipalities and geographical areas can participate in the governance of MINSUPALA by way of
being appointed or elected in offices of the Mindanao federal government.

To reiterate, the people of MINSUPALA share common and distinctive historical and cultural
heritage, economic and social structure and other characteristics. The time has come to unite, assert
and build one nation Mindanao within the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a federal republic in
the orient seas.

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 Shaping
Public Policy
for Peace and
Good Governance
The Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) is an independent and non-
partisan think tank founded in 2001 to generate ideas on making autonomy an
effective vehicle for peace and development in the Southern Philippines. IAG
is an institutional partner of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in the Philippines.

KAS is in 5th floor, Cambridge Center Building, 108 Tordesillas Corner Gallardo
Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines, telephone 894-
3737.

Institute for
Autonomy and
Governance
Notre Dame University, Notre
Dame Avenue, Cotabato City,
Telefax (064)557 - 1638.

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