Province of North Cotabato v. Government of Republic of the Philippines .

G. R . No. 183591, October 14, 2008

Facts :

On August 2008, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines

(GRP), represented by the GRP Peace Panel and the Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process (PAPP) , and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were
scheduled to sign the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain
(MOA-AD) Aspect of the previous GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace of
2001 IN Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The MOA-AD included, among others, a stipulation that creates the
Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), to which the GRP grants the authority and
jurisdiction over the ancestral domain and ancestral lands of the Bangsamoro-
defined as the present geographic area of the ARRM.
The BJE, then granted the power to build, develop, and maintain its own
institutions. The MOA-AD also described the relationship of the GRP and the
BJE as associative, characterized by shared authority and responsibility.
Before the signing, however, the Province of North Cotabato sought to
compel the respondents to disclose and furnish it with complete and official
copies of the MOA-AD, as well as to hold a public consultation thereon, invoking
its right to information on the matters of public concern. A subsequent petition
sought to have the City of Zamboanga excluded from the BJE. The Court then
issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on August 4, 2008, directing the
public respondents , and their agents to cease and desist from formally signing
the MOA-AD.

ISSUE :

Whether or Not the MOA-AD violated the Constitution and the laws.

Ruling :

Yes, MOA-AD Violated the laws and the Constitution.

The Supreme Court ruled association in international practice, the

associated state arrangement has usually been used as a transitional device of
former colonies on their way to full independence . The MOA-AD contains many
provisions which are consistent with the international legal concept of
association. No province, city or municipality, not even the ARMM, is recognized
under our laws as having an “associative” relationship with the national
government. The concept implies powers that go beyond anything ever granted
by the Constitution to any local or regional government . It also implies the
recognition of the associated entity as a state. The Constitution, however, does
not contemplate any state in this jurisdiction other than the Philippine State,
much less does it provide for a transitory status that aims to prepare any part of
Philippine territory for independence.
It further ruled that the contention that the MOA-AD would have been
signed by representative of States and International organizations not parties to
the Agreement would not have sufficed to vest in it a binding character under
International Law. The Philippine panel did not draft the same with the clear
intention of being bound thereby to the international community as a whole or
any State, but only to the MILF. While there were States and international
organizations involved, one way or another, in the negation and projected signing
of the MOA-AD, they participated merely as witnesses or, in the case of
Malaysia, as facilitator.