Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of the Philippines

Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of the Philippines established diplomatic

relations in January 1984.

Recent visits to the Philippines

19 - 23 June 2012
Working visit by YB Pehin Dato Bakar Apong, Minister of Education.

13 – 17 November 2012
YB Pehin Dato Abdullah Bakar, Minister of Communications for the 12th
ASEAN Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers’ Meeting
(TELMIN) and Related Meetings with Dialogue Partners in Cebu City.

6 – 11 December 2012
YB Pehin Dato Yasmin Umar, Minister of Energy for an official visit.

Recent visits to Brunei Darussalam

14 – 17 July 2012
The Honorable Voltaire T. Gazmin, Secretary of National Defense Department
of National Defense (DND) and his wife, Mrs. Rhodora Hernandez-Gazmin attended
His Majesty’s 66th Birthday celebration.

23 September 2012
His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III attended the Royal Wedding of
HRH Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah.

2 – 4 October 2012
The Honorable Corazon Juliano-Soliman, Secretary of Social Welfare and
Development, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Head of
Phildel for the 5th East Asian Ministerial Forum on Families (5th EAMFF).

1 – 3 December 2012
The Honorable Mario G. Montejo, Secretary of Science and Technology,
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to attend the 7th ASEAN Informal
Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology (IAMMST-7).

Bilateral Relations
Relations between the two countries are good and cooperation is mostly
focused on education, defence, agriculture and labour.
The 1st Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) was held on 31 January
2004.

Agreements/MOUs signed
 1 June 2011: MOU on Food Security and Agricultural Cooperation.
 1 June 2011: MOU on Sports Cooperation.
 1 June 2011: MOU on Tourism Cooperation.
 1 June 2011: MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) on Shipping and Ports.
 27 April 2009: MOU on Agricultural Cooperation and the Implementing
Arrangement (IA) on Cooperation in Rice Research and Development.
 30-31 Mar 2009: A Confidential MOU (CMU) between the Philippine Civil
Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Ministry of Communications.
 7 March 2005: MOU on Academic Cooperation in Higher Education.

Comparison and Implications

In many ways these two countries couldn’t be more different as this snapshot
shows. The Philippines: land area, 298,170 sq. km; population 102 million; religion,
80.9% Roman Catholic; GDP per capita (PPP), US$7,300; sector contribution to
GDP, agriculture 1.1%, industry 60.2%, services 38.7%. Brunei: land area, 5,265 sq.
km; population 430,632; religion, 78.8% Muslim; GDP per capita (PPP), US$79,700
(2015 figure); sector contribution to GDP, agriculture 10.3%, industry 30.8%, services
59.0%.
To all intents and purposes, in terms of size, cultures and economies, they are
chalk and cheese. But Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is the closest of any
Asean capital to Manila – 1,264 kilometres – and although diplomatic relations
between the two states only span 32 years, cultural and political ties go back more
than half a millennium. And so it’s the things these two nations have in common
which Duterte and Brunei’s leader, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, will seek to build
on. Right now those include: illegal narcotics; Islamic terrorism; Islamic links; sea-
territory disputes, and energy exploration.
Illegal narcotics. This trade is as much an anathema to the Sultan as it is to the
president. As a strict Islamic state, Brunei comes down hard on those who
contravene its drugs and alcohol laws. In terms of alcohol, this is virtually a dry
country. The sale of alcohol, including by hotels, is strictly prohibited. Meanwhile,
under the country’s Shariah criminal code, penalties for the possession, use or
trafficking of illegal drugs is severe and include heavy fines, long prison terms and
execution.
In Brunei, the death penalty is mandatory for the following offences: possession of
more than 15 grams of heroin, ecstasy, or morphine derivatives; cocaine, more than
30gms; cannabis, more than 500gms; methamphetamine – such as the Philippine
addicts’ drug of choice, shabu – more than 50gms; opium, more than 1.2 kilograms.
Possession of lesser amounts can result in a minimum 20-year jail term and caning.
 It wasn’t any surprise, then, that Bolkiah, like fellow Asean members Thailand and
Indonesia, has expressed his backing for Duterte’s war on drugs.
Islamic terrorism. Although Bolkiah has transformed Brunei from a semi-secular,
Western-modeled state to one based on Shariah, he is no apologist for extreme
forms of the faith that exploit it for political power. On 2 October, marking the start of
the new 1438 Hijrah year, he said Bruneians have neither time nor desire to become
involved with any “undesirable elements” wherever they are.
This was a direct signal to jihadist groups that Brunei would continue to pursue
peace under a “transparent and fair leadership” based on the country’s laws and what
it views as the true Islamic teachings. In terms of Philippine domestic policy, vis-à-
vis Muslim Mindanao, these are encouraging sentiments and make Brunei a natural
ally in brokering any future peaceful resolution to the bitter and bloody dispute that
has been raging on the large southern Philippine island for the best part of half a
century.
As part of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team, Brunei has been
sending peacekeepers to protect and monitor the ceasefire agreement between the
Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Force since 2004 and last
month reiterated its commitment to that initiative. Brunei has been a strong and
enduring supporter of peace efforts in this region.
Islamic links. Islam forms a strong bond between these two nations with a history
that goes back to the 15th century. Today, the Philippines Muslim population is
anywhere between 5.75 million (based on the 2015 census) and 11.3 million (based
on the National Commission of Filipino Muslims) compared to 333,068 in Brunei.
There are also presently some 23,000 Filipino overseas foreign workers in Brunei
many of which practice the Islamic faith.
Islamic tourism from the southern Philippines is an attractive prospect for Brunei;
similarly, Brunei investment in the Philippines’ halal industry is something Duterte
would like to encourage. Both issues have been discussed and are being explored.
Sea-territory disputes. This is something else which these two countries share.
And their common disputant is China – in both cases over areas of the Spratley
Islands (irrespective of the Philippines other dispute with the Mainland over
Scarborough Shoal), though Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of this
archipelago.
But what Brunei and the Philippines share in this context under Duterte and
Bolkiah is what Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, describes as the “dual-track
approach” to resolving these issues. In other words, territorial disputes in the South
China Sea should be resolved bilaterally – without the intervention of other parties.
This approach will help to secure their participation in the 21st century Maritime Silk
Road – a massive trade route from Chinese waters to the Mediterranean.
Energy cooperation. Brunei is an oil state. It’s been pumping large barrelages of
oil from the ocean floor around its waters since the early 1970s, though oil exploration
there dates back to the early 1900s. Crude oil and natural gas account for 90% of the
country’s GDP, making Brunei the fourth largest oil-producing nation in Southeast
Asia with the 39th largest proven oil reserves in the world. By contrast, the
Philippines which is believed to have very large oil and natural gas resources in its
water territory is globally ranked 66th in terms of proven oil reserves with 138.5
million barrels. Crude oil production is around 20,000 barrels per day; natural-gas
production is at 3.47 billion cubic metres. All this falls far short of the Philippines
energy requirements.
Bolkiah has said that commercial partnerships between the two states, to bring
greater power and energy to the Philippines, should be explored. “There remains
much potential to be tapped in our economic cooperation,” he said. “This includes
strengthening our work in the energy sector”.
In the past, the two countries shared common enemies – Spain in the later
16th century; Japan during WWII. Today, their two leaders also share common
enemies – the international media, Hollywood and most Western governments and
their affiliated NGOs. And that’s also not surprising; for both men, through their
singleness of purpose, have chosen to pursue independent foreign policies and
implement radical changes to their domestic policies. This makes Bolkiah and Duterte
fellow travelers on a journey to do right by their people; it makes them natural allies.

History of relationship
The Brunei–Philippines relations refers to the bilateral relations between Brunei and
the Philippines. Brunei has an embassy in Makati, Metro Manila while the Philippines
has an embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan.

History

The Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque in the Philippines was funded by
Brunei.
Prior to Spanish and British colonization, the Sultanate of Brunei and the
Kingdom of Maynila and Sultanate of Sulu as well as other sultanates in the
Philippines have extensive trading and political relations. The Sultanate of Sulu was
once a satellite state of Brunei, later becoming independent after the Sultan of Sulu
helped the Sultan of Brunei destroy a growing civil war movement and a rebellion in
Brunei. Half of Sabah was given as a gift to Sulu by Brunei after the aid given to
them. The island group of Palawan was also formerly part of the Empire of Brunei,
but was also given to Sulu by Brunei. Muslim populations in southern Palawan are
the descendants of the people of the Sultanate of Sulu who once controlled the island
group. Brunei once subjugated the Kingdom of Maynila, turning it into the first and
only Islamic state in the history of Luzon island. Later, the Spanish Empire
subjugated the Philippines, and Brunei's influence to Manila disintegrated. Sulu,
being waned by Spain, continued to have good relations with Brunei, until British
troops subjugated Brunei and turned it into a colony.
 Upon Brunei's independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984, the
Philippines established full diplomatic relations with Brunei.The Philippines'
Consulate-General in Bandar Seri Begawan, set up on 10 August 1983 to
accommodate the needs of Overseas Filipino Workers in the sultanate, was
upgraded into embassy status. Likewise, Brunei's Consulate-General in Makati,
founded in November 1983, was also upgraded to embassy status. Brunei has
supported various developments in the Philippines, including the building of the
biggest mosque in the country located in Cotabato City.