Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Filipino:
Nagsasariling Rehiyon ng Muslim sa Mindanaw) (abbreviated ARMM) is the region,
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.[2]
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".[3]
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.[4]
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,[5] 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).[6] 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.[7]
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.[8]
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 Norte, Davao Oriental, 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, Davao, 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[9]
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.[10] RA 9054 lapsed into law, without the signature
of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo[clarification needed].
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[not verified in body] 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 Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in his talks
with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in Malaysia, revealed the planned
extension of the region.[11] 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.[11]
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.[12] 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.[13]
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).[14][15] 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.”[16][17][18]
Government
ARMM organizational structure
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
|
Benjamin Loong
|
||
|
1993–1996
|
Lininding Pangandaman
|
Nabil Tan
|
||
|
1996–2002
|
Guimid P. Matalam
|
|||
|
2001
|
||||
|
2001–2005
|
Parouk S. Hussin
|
Mahid M. Mutilan
|
||
|
2005–2009
|
Ansaruddin-Abdulmalik A. Adiong
|
|||
|
2009–2011
|
||||
|
2011–Present
|
^a Acting capacity
^b Officer-in-charge
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).[8][1][broken citation]
Provincial Governors
Basilan - Gov. Jum Akbar (Liberal)
Lanao del Sur - Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong (Liberal)
Maguindanao - Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu (Liberal)
Sulu - Gov. Abdusakur Tan (Liberal)
Tawi-Tawi - Gov. Sadikul Sahali (Liberal)
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.[25]
The joint resolution mentioned the “presence of hundreds of thousands of
illegal and fictitious registrants in the ARMM which needs to be deleted.”[25]
The Comelec is set to conduct a general registration of voters in the region
starting July 9 to 18, 2012.[25]
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.[26] 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.[27]
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.[28][29]
|
Poverty Incidence
|
||||
|
2003
|
2000
|
|||
|
Percent
|
Percent
|
|||
|
33.5
|
40
|
31.5
|
31
|
|
|
37.6
|
56
|
54.7
|
73
|
|
|
60.4
|
78
|
59.3
|
76
|
|
|
45.1
|
67
|
58.9
|
75
|
|
|
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.[27]
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.
