There have been terrible incidents and loss of life in Marawi, Philippines recently. From the Wikipedia article below, it seems that the Muslims in the area have been granted some autonomy and can even use their own flag. I wonder what has sparked off this violence?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_Region_in_Muslim_MindanaoAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[th]
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
- Awtonomong Rehiyon sa Muslim Mindanao (Filipino)
- [font=Jameel Noori Nastaleeq,Urdu Typesetting,Noto Nastaliq Urdu,Noto Nastaliq Urdu Draft,Hussaini Nastaleeq,AlQalam Taj Nastaleeq,IranNastaliq,Awami Nastaliq,Awami Nastaliq Beta4,Awami Nastaliq Beta3,Awami Nastaliq Beta2,Awami Nastaliq Beta1,Nafees Nastaleeq,Nafees Nastaleeq v1.01,Pak Nastaleeq,PDMS_Jauhar,Alvi Lahori Nastaleeq]الحكم الذاتي الاقليمي لمسلمي مندناو[/font] (Arabic)
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Region
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates:
7°13′N 124°15′ECoordinates: 7°13′N 124°15′E[th]Country[/th]
[th]
Island group[/th]
[th]Regional center[/th]
[th]Government[/th]
[th]•
Regional Governor[/th]
[th]• Regional Vice Governor[/th]
| Haroun Alrashid A. Lucman Jr. (LP) |
|
[th]Area
[2][/th]
[th]• Total[/th]
| 12,535.79 km2 (4,840.10 sq mi) |
|
[th]Population (2015 census)
[3][/th]
[th]• Total[/th]
[th]• Density[/th]
[th]
Time zone[/th]
[th]
ISO 3166 code[/th]
[th]
Provinces[/th]
[th]
Cities[/th]
[th]
Municipalities[/th]
[th]
Barangαys[/th]
[th]
Cong. districts[/th]
[th]
Languages[/th]
[th]Website[/th]
The
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (
Filipino:
Awtonomong Rehiyon sa Muslim Mindanao,
[4] Arabic:
[font=Jameel Noori Nastaleeq,Urdu Typesetting,Noto Nastaliq Urdu,Noto Nastaliq Urdu Draft,Hussaini Nastaleeq,AlQalam Taj Nastaleeq,IranNastaliq,Awami Nastaliq,Awami Nastaliq Beta4,Awami Nastaliq Beta3,Awami Nastaliq Beta2,Awami Nastaliq Beta1,Nafees Nastaleeq,Nafees Nastaleeq v1.01,Pak Nastaleeq,PDMS_Jauhar,Alvi Lahori Nastaleeq]الحكم الذاتي الاقليمي لمسلمي مندناو[/font])
[5] (abbreviated
ARMM) is an
autonomous region of the Philippines, located in the
Mindanao island group of the
Philippines, that consists of five predominantly
Muslim provinces:
Basilan (except
Isabela City),
Lanao del Sur,
Maguindanao,
Sulu and
Tawi-Tawi. It is the only
region that has its own government. The region's
de facto seat of government is
Cotabato City, although this
self-governing 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 vs. COMELEC.
[6]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,
[7] a
compound of
bangsa (nation) and
Moro.
[8]Contents
Geography
The ARMM spans two geographical areas: Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao (except Cotabato City) in southwestern
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.
[9]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,
[10] 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).
[11] 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.
[12]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.
[13]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.
[14] 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 (except Marawi City), Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi — voted in favor of inclusion in the new autonomous region. The ARMM was officially inaugurated on November 6, 1990
[15] in Cotabato City, which was designated as its provisional capital. Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 42, enacted on September 22, 1995, sought to permanently fix the seat of regional government at
Parang in
Maguindanao, pending the completion of required buildings and infrastructure.
[1] However the move to Parang was never made. Until the passage of Republic Act No. 9054 in 2001, which directed the ARMM Regional Government to once again fix a new permanent seat of government in an area within its jurisdiction,
[16] Cotabato City remained the
de facto seat of ARMM's government, and remains so at present.
2001 expansion of the ARMM
A new law,
Republic Act No. 9054, was passed by the Congress on February 7, 2001 with a view to expand the territory and powers of the ARMM by amending the original Organic Act (
R.A. No. 6734) and calling for a plebiscite to ratify the amendments and confirm which other provinces and cities would like to join the region.
[16] RA 9054 lapsed into law on March 31, 2001, without the signature of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
[16] A plebiscite was held on August 14 in the provinces of
Basilan,
Cotabato,
Davao del Sur,
Lanao del Norte,
Lanao del Sur,
Maguindanao,
Palawan,
Sarangani,
South Cotabato,
Sultan Kudarat,
Sulu,
Tawi-Tawi,
Zamboanga del Norte,
Zamboanga del Sur and
Zamboanga Sibugαy, and the cities of
Cotabato,
Dapitan,
Dipolog,
General Santos,
Iligan,
Kidapawan,
Marawi,
Pagadian,
Puerto Princesa,
Digos,
Koronadal,
Tacurong and
Zamboanga. In the plebiscite, a majority of votes cast in the original four provinces were in favor of the amendments; outside these areas, only
Marawi City and the province of
Basilan (excluding
Isabela City) opted to be included in the ARMM.
[16]Creation and disestablishment of Shariff Kabunsuan
Main article:
Shariff KabunsuanMain article:
Sema vs. COMELECThe ARMM's sixth province,
Shariff Kabunsuan, was carved out of Maguindanao on October 28, 2006.
[17] However, on July 16, 2008 the
Supreme Court of the Philippines voided the creation of Shariff Kabunsuan, declaring unconstitutional Section 19 in RA 9054 which granted the ARMM Regional Assembly the power to create provinces and cities. The Supreme Court held that only the
Congress of the Philippines was empowered to create provinces and cities because the creation of such necessarily included the power to create
legislative districts, which explicitly under the
Philippine Constitution was within the sole prerogative of Congress to establish.
[18]Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain
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 expansion of the region.
[19] 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 broader political and economic powers.
[19]Massive protests,
[not verified in body] however, have greeted the move of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and MILF panels in signing a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain as a majority of the Local Government Units where these Barangαys are connected have already opted not to join the ARMM in two instances, 1989 and 2001.
On August 4, 2008, after local officials from
Cotabato asked the Supreme 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.
[20] 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.
[21]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).
[22][23] 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.”
[24][25][26]Bangsamoro state
Due to the failure to establish the Bangsamoro entity in the administration of then President Noynoy Aquino after the clash in Mamasapano, President Rodrigo Duterte announced his intent to establish a federal form of government which would replace the unitary form of government used since the First People Power Revolution[clarify]. In his plan, ARMM, along with the areas that voted to be included in ARMM in 2001 plus Isabela City and Cotabato City, will become part of a federal state.
Aquilino Pimentel Jr., a Duterte ally and advocate for federalism in the Philippines, said in an interview
[when?] that
Isabela City,
Basilan,
Lamitan,
Sulu, and
Tawi-tawi may be a single federal state, while
Lanao del Sur,
Marawi,
Cotabato City and
Maguindanao may be a single federal state as well because the Muslims of the Sulu archipelago have a different heritage from the Muslims in mainland Mindanao.
Demographics
Coastal village in Basilan
[th]
Population census of ARMM[/th]
[th]Year[/th]
[th]Pop.[/th]
[th]±% p.a.[/th]
[th]1990[/th]
[th]2000[/th]
[th]2010[/th]
[th]2015[/th]
| 3,781,387 | +2.89% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[3][27] |
Administrative divisions
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao consists of 2
component cities, 116
municipalities and 2,490
barangαys. The cities of
Isabela and
Cotabato are not under the administrative jurisdiction of the ARMM.
[th]Province[/th]
[th]Capital[/th]
[th]Population (2015)
[3][/th]
[th]Area
[2][/th]
[th]Density[/th]
[th]Cities[/th]
[th]Muni.[/th]
[th]Bgy.[/th]
[th][/th]
[th][/th]
[th][/th]
[th]km
2[/th]
[th]sq mi[/th]
[th]/km
2[/th]
[th]/sq mi[/th]
[th][/th]
[th][/th]
[th][/th]
[th]
Basilan[a][/th]
[th]
Lanao del Sur[/th]
| Marawi | 27.6% | 1,045,429 | 3,872.89 | 1,495.33 | 270 | 700 | 1 | 39 | 1,159 |
|
[th]
Maguindanao[/th]
| Buluan | 31.0% | 1,173,933 | 4,871.60 | 1,880.94 | 240 | 620 | 0 | 36 | 508 |
|
[th]
Sulu[/th]
| Jolo | 21.8% | 824,731 | 1,600.40 | 617.92 | 520 | 1,300 | 0 | 19 | 410 |
|
[th]
Tawi-Tawi[/th]
| Bongao | 10.3% | 390,715 | 1,087.40 | 419.85 | 360 | 930 | 0 | 11 | 203 |
|
[th]Total[/th]
[th]3,781,387[/th]
[th]12,535.79[/th]
[th]4,836.23[/th]
[th]300[/th]
[th]780[/th]
[th]2[/th]
[th]116[/th]
[th]2,490[/th]
Government
ARMM organizational structure
The Office of the Bangsamoro People, the seat of the ARMM regional government in Cotabato City[28]
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.
[th]Term[/th]
[th]Governor[/th]
[th]Party[/th]
[th]Vice Governor[/th]
[th]Party[/th]
[th]1990–1993[/th]
[th]1993–1996[/th]
[th]1996–2001[/th]
[th]2001[/th]
[th]2001–2005[/th]
[th]2005–2009[/th]
[th]2009–2011[/th]
[th]2011–Present[/th]
Topic: Mindanao, Philippines trouble (Read 1403 times)