The ARMM is a creation of the Organic Act (Republic Act 6734 of 1987) that was intended to address grievances of the Bangsamoro against the national government.  Such grievances led to the formation of an armed revolutionary movement among young Moro intellectuals and professionals mainly from the three numerous Moro ethno-linguistic groups.  This was the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).  The MNLF became a rallying symbol of the Moro struggle for self-determination, which aimed to defend the Bangsamoro homeland and Islam as the way of life of its peoples.  By 1975 the MNLF had become a popular revolutionary movement, enjoying almost universal support from Muslims in the country and abroad.  Two years before (1973), the Bangsa Moro Army (BMA) was formally organized to lead the MNLF’s military engagements with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Prior to the creation of the ARMM, the Philippine national government had already started a process of laying the foundation for an autonomous government in the areas identified by the MNLF as part of the Bangsamoro homeland.  This process was the result of a series of negotiations between the GRP and the MNLF that culminated in the signing of the very first Peace Agreement – the Tripoli Agreement of 1976.

The Tripoli Agreement of 1976 provided for the establishment of autonomy in southern Philippines “within the realm of Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines…”  Consequently, former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential Decree 1618 that formally created two autonomous regions in Mindanao – Regions IX and XII.  Region IX was based in Zamboanga City and covered the provinces in the Western Mindanao area (the Zamboanga provinces) as well as the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-tawi. 

As provided for in the TA, 13 provinces in southern Philippines were identified as the areas of autonomy, namely:

In these specified areas of autonomy, Muslims are to be given the right to set up their own courts that will implement the Islamic Shari’ah laws.  Muslims are to be represented in all courts, including the Supreme Court.  Moreover, authorities in the areas of autonomy shall have the right to set up schools, colleges and universities as well as their own administrative system in compliance with the objectives of the autonomy and its institutions (Articles 4 and 5).  In other words, the Agreement provided for an autonomous arrangement with its own administrative, economic and financial system. 

The TA was quite significant in its provisions for the political settlement between the Bangsamoro nation and the Philippine state formation.  More importantly, it also provided for the compensation of martyred mujahideen to their widows and orphans and to communities which have been displaced and impoverished as a consequence of the armed struggle.  However, as it turned out, this provision along with others in the agreement were not implemented by the Philippine national government.  Former Pres. Marcos signed Presidential Decree 1618 that created two autonomous regions, Region IX based in Zamboanga City and Region XII in Cotabato City.  PD 1618 ran short of MNLF expectations of genuine autonomy.  Instead, Regions IX and XII were just additional bureaucratic layers in the administration of the provinces that were identified as part of the autonomous region.  The so-called autonomous regions were just part of a strategy for window dressing for the repressive and dictatorial military rule imposed by then Pres. Marcos throughout the country.  In other words, the two regional administrative offices were more autonomous in name rather than in practice. 

After President Marcos was ousted from office through a bloodless “People Power” coup in 1982,  Cory Aquino, widow of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino, assumed the presidency.   Early in her term, Aquino immediately arranged for a meeting with MNLF chairman Nur Misuari and the MNLF in Sulu.  This meeting paved the way for a series of negotiations with the MNLF during the Aquino administration.  However, it took another ten years to forge an agreement.  On September 2, 1996, under the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos, the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) was signed. 

In 1987, a landmark change in Philippine governance took place with the signing of the New Philippine Constitution.  This major change in the national charter provided for the creation of a Regional Commission that formulated the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).  This is Republic Act 6734. 

Voters in four provinces among the coverage of the former autonomous regions (IX and XII) voted for their provinces’ inclusion in the ARMM in the plebiscite held in 1989 for the ratification of RA 6734.  These provinces were Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-tawi and Sulu. As stipulated in RA 6734, the seat of government of the fledgling autonomous region is Cotabato City.  Ironically, the voters in this city did not vote for its inclusion in the ARMM. 

While the national government viewed RA 6734 as a blueprint for peace in Mindanao, the MNLF rejected it.  The MNLF leadership and members were totally excluded from the process of formulating the autonomy law.  To make matters worse, the ARMM had negligible powers – it provided for more restrictions rather than what it can do as the country’s very first and only autonomous region. 

Aside from having negligible powers, the ARMM was also hostage to the power-brokers in Malacanang.  Since it was created, the ARMM has been led by local politicians who had been “anointed” by whoever sits in the presidential palace.  The first regional governor was the local stalwart of Pres. Aquino’s Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP).  The second one was a Maranaw protégé of Pres. Fidel V. Ramos.  During the third ARMM elections, the FPA with the MNLF has just been signed.  MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari was persuaded by Pres. Ramos to run for ARMM governor.  Misuari ran virtually unopposed in the 1998 ARMM elections.  By that time, a new president had replaced Ramos - Joseph Estrada.  Estrada’s term was cut short by another “People Power” mass action at EDSA in 2001 because of a popular perception of his alleged plunder and other crimes against the Filipino nation.   The Vice President then, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took oath as the new president.  Like her predecessors, Arroyo lost no time in directing who will become the new ARMM governor.  Along with her power-brokers, she made possible the (in)famous break-up of the MNLF Central Committee, easing out Misuari as its chairman.  A so-called “Council of 15” was organized, with Dr. Parouk Hussin as its leader.  Eventually, Malacanang also anointed Hussin to be the new ARMM governor.  In last year’s elections, a new face in regional politics surfaced as the winner in the contest for the ARMM governor’s post – Gov. Datu Zaldy “Puti” Ampatuan.  Despite the declaration of the ARMM as a “free zone” in terms of the most likely to be elected regional governor, there are persistent views that the new ARMM governor is also Malacanang’s bet – he is the son of Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan, widely known as Pres. GMA’s favorite local political ally. 

The Final Peace Agreement of 1996 was considered a breakthrough in the protracted peace process between the MNLF and the Philippine government.  The FPA provided for a transition phase (Phase I) and an expanded autonomous region (Phase II). In Phase I, the ARMM, together with 10 other provinces and nine cities were designated the Special Zone of Peace and Development (SZOPAD).  A new structure, the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) was established to oversee or manage peace and development efforts within the SZOPAD.  In addition to SPCPD, a Consultative Assembly of 81 members was also established that was mandated to be “a forum for consultation and ventilation of issues and concerns.” (Muslim, 1999).  As such, it was tasked to conduct public hearings, recommend policies to the President through the SPCPD chairman, and make rules and regulations for the effective and efficient administration of the SZOPAD.

All the efforts of these newly created bodies and administrative structures were designed to create some kind of an enabling environment for a New Regional Autonomous Government (NRAG), envisioned to be an expanded ARMM, which includes clusters of contiguous communities with predominantly Muslim populations.  For this purpose, the Philippine Congress was tasked to formulate a law to create the NRAG which will amend the Organic Act for the existing ARMM.