The Supreme Court of Canada had responded to a Reference from the government of Canada

on whether Quebec had the right to unilateral secession under Canadian constitutional law and
international law. It will suffice here to note the Court's conclusion that under international law
neither the National Assembly, nor the legislature, nor the government of Quebec could claim
the right to secede unilaterally from Canada. The Court observed that under the international
law principle of self-determination of peoples, a right to secede arises only where "a people" is
governed in a colonial setting, where "a people" is subject to alien subjugation, domination or
exploitation, and possibly where "a people" is denied within the state of which it forms a part a
meaningful exercise of its right to self-determination.

In its opinion on Quebec's claim to secede unilaterally from Canada, the Supreme Court of
Canada stated, "international law expects that the right to self-determination will be exercised
by peoples within the framework of existing sovereign states and consistently with the
maintenance of the territorial integrity of those states. Where this is not possible, in the
exceptional circumstance ... a right of secession may arise.

One more statement by the Court will be noted here: There is no necessary incompatibility
between the maintenance of the territorial integrity of existing states, including Canada, and
the right of a "people" to achieve a full measure of self-determination. A state whose
government represents the whole of the people or peoples resident within its territory, on a
basis of equality and without discrimination, and respects the principles of self-determination in
its own internal arrangements, is entitled to the protection under international law of its
territorial integrity.

It added: In other circumstances, peoples are expected to achieve self-determination within the
framework of their existing state. A state whose government represents the whole of the
people or peoples resident within its territory, on a basis of equality and without discrimination,
and respects the principles of self-determination in its internal arrangements, is entitled to
maintain its territorial integrity under international law and to have that territorial integrity
recognized by other states. Quebec does not meet the threshold of a colonial people or an
oppressed people, nor can it be suggested that Quebecers have been denied meaningful access
to government to pursue their political, economic, cultural and social development. In the
circumstances, the National Assembly, the legislature or the government of Quebec do[es] not
enjoy a right at international law to effect the secession of Quebec from Canada unilaterally.

The principle of self-determination has also been addressed in several U.N. resolutions,
declarations and conventions. To illustrate, the United Nations General Assembly's 1970
Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation
Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (the "Friendly Relations
Declaration") states: By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right freely to determine,
without external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and
cultural development, and every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the
provisions of the Charter.

Finally, the U.N. General Assembly's Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of
the United Nations emphasizes the right to self-determination by providing that U.N. Member
States will, inter alia, continue to reaffirm the right of self-determination of all peoples, taking
into account the particular situation of peoples under colonial or other forms of alien
domination or foreign occupation, and recognize the right of peoples to take legitimate action
in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to realize their inalienable right of self-
determination. This shall not be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action that would
dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign
and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights
and self-determination of peoples and thus possessed of a Government representing the whole
people belonging to the territory without distinction of any kind.

A state whose government represents the whole of the people or peoples resident within its
territory, on a basis of equality and without discrimination, and respects the principles of self-
determination in its own internal arrangements, is entitled to the protection under
international law of its territorial integrity.

It is fair to conclude that the United Nations and its member states do not support claims for
unilateral secession. The latest developments, especially after Kosovo and East Timor, and in
the light of the Canadian Supreme Court's pronouncement relating to the claim for Quebec's
secession, however, indicate that there could be exceptional circumstances which might lead to
the acceptance of a claim to unilateral secession. One such exception on which there is
consensus, but which has passed into history, is in the colonial context. The second exception is
undemocratic, authoritarian regimes, which are not "representative," thus not providing the
opportunity for the "people" to participate effectively in the political and economic life of the
state, especially when there is a pattern of flagrant violations of human rights. This is the
exception recognized by President Clinton in his Quebec speech, as noted earlier, and by the
Supreme Court of Canada. Along with the substantive criteria, it seems essential to consider
suitable procedures-weighted majority in favor of secession and waiting period between
secessionist referenda, for example-as well.
Source: Ved P. Nanda, Self-Determination and Secession under International Law, University of
Denver Sturm College of Law at Digital Commons @ DU

ARTICLE I
NATIONAL TERRITORY

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters
embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea,
the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around,
between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and
dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

ARTICLE X
LOCAL GOVERNMENT

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. The territorial and political subdivisions of the Republic of the Philippines are the
provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays. There shall be autonomous regions in Muslim
Mindanao and the Cordilleras as hereinafter provided.

Section 15. There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the
Cordilleras consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas sharing
common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and
other relevant characteristics within the framework of this Constitution and the national
sovereignty as well as territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.

ARTICLE XI
ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS

Section 5. There is hereby created the independent Office of the Ombudsman, composed of the
Ombudsman to be known as Tanodbayan, one overall Deputy and at least one Deputy each for
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. A separate Deputy for the military establishment may likewise
be appointed.