ARMM

3. The Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is one
of the regions of the Philippines.
The region was first created on
August 1, 1989 through Republic
Act No. 6734 otherwise known as
the Organic Act.

4. ARMM was established pursuant
to a constitutional mandate to
provide for an autonomous area in
Muslim Mindanao. It was officially
inaugurated on November 6, 1990 in
Cotabato City.

5. It 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.

6. 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.

7. On October 7, 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".

8. ARMM is headed by a Regional
Governor who acts as the chief
executive of the regional
government. He has control of all
regional executive commissions,
agencies, boards, bureaus and
offices. He is assisted by a cabinet
not exceeding 10 members.

9. The Regional Governor and Vice-Governor
are elected directly like regular local
executives and they have a fixed term of
three years but can be extended by an act of
Congress. Republic Act No. 9054 provides that
ARMM “shall remain an integral and
inseparable part of the national territory of
the Republic.”

10. 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.

11. In 1942, during the early stages of
Pacific War of the Second World War,
troops of the Japanese Imperial Forces
invaded and overran Mindanao. 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.

12. On October 15, 2012, the historic preliminary
agreement was signed by Government's chief
negotiator Marvic Leonen, MILF Peace Panel
Chair MohagherIqbal, and Malaysian facilitator
TengkuDato’ AbGhafarTengku Mohamed along
with President Aquino, Prime Minister NajibRazak
of Malaysia, Chairman Al Haj MuradEbrahim of
the MILF, and Secretary-General
Ekmeleddinİhsanoğlu of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation at the Malacañang Palace in
Manila.

13. This document outlines general
agreements on major issues,
including the extent of power,
revenues and territory granted for
the new Muslim autonomous
region.

14. The Comprehensive Agreement on
Bangsamoro was signed at Malacañang in
March 27, 2014 as witnessed by leaders
and members of MILF and the Philippine
government, as well as by Malaysian
Prime Minister NajibRazak, whose country
served as the third-party negotiator in the
peace talks.

15. 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.

16. It is the lowest among the Philippines'
17 regions; the second lowest region has a
per capita income almost double the
ARMM's. 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.

17. 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.

18. The Second Creation
How the Angels Built
Lake Lanao
Pilandok Crosses a River