Executive Summary of the GRP-MILF Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain

The third substantive aspect of the GRP-MILF negotiations is Ancestral Domain, apart from the Security and Rehabilitation and Development aspects.  This has been the subject of intense discussions running four years now at the negotiating table.

In discussing Ancestral Domain, the GRP and MILF have earlier agreed to pursue the discussions according to four sub-topics (or strands), namely:  Concept, Territory, Resources and Governance.  Through these strands, both sides have gone beyond treating the issue of Ancestral Domain as a question of mere land ownership.  Rather, we have forge a common objective of addressing the subject in terms of acknowledging the identity of the Bangsamoro people, affirming their rights over a homeland and its resources and providing them the opportunity to establish a system of governance suitable and acceptable to them as a people possessing a unique history and culture.

CONCEPT

Ancestral Domain (AD), as a concept in the context of the GRP-MILF Peace Negotiations, is more than just land and its proprietary ownership.  The MOA also has terms that explicitly define the Bangsamoro people’s identity and acknowledging their roots from a self-governing society in pre-Colonial Philippines.  At the heart of the concept of AD is respect and acknowledgement, not only of the Bangsamoro people’s rights and freedoms, but also vested property rights and religious and cultural liberties of other peoples. 

TERRITORY

The strand on Territory defines the area of composition of the Bangsamoro Judicial Entity (BJE), the core of which is the present geographic jurisdiction of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), including areas composed of 721 Barangays adjacent to tha ARMM and found in the agrees Provinces and those barangays in agreed cities for accession to the present ARMM after a plebiscite – including those that already voted “yes” in a previous plebiscite.  There are areas that have also been identified for intensive development assistance.  Arrangements over fluvial and maritime domains consist of the internal and territorial waters of the BJE.

RESOURCES

The strand on BJE grants authority to the BJE on the use and development of resources found within BJE jurisdiction.  More significantly, it sets the reasonable sharing with the Central Government of profit from exploration of potential resources of energy found within BJE jurisdiction.  The BJE shall have power to conduct economic relations to maximize its capacity to fully develop.

GOVERNANCE

The last strand on Governance laid down the mechanisms and modalities to implement the MOA on AD, the details of which shall be outlined in the Comprehensive Compact.

The memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain was finalized and initialed by both panels on July 27, 2008.  The signing will signal the start of formal talks for the negotiation of details of the Comprehensive Compact.

“It’s just a piece of paper.  There’s nothing to worry about.  Any change in the ARMM or territory has to go through Congress and a plebiscite.”   - Fr. Joaquin Bernas S.J. (Dean Emeritus, Ateneo Law School)