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Province of North Cotabato Vs The Government (Case Digest)

The MOA-AD aimed to reach a consensus between the GRP and MILF and establish an ancestral homeland for the Bangsamoro people. However, the Executive Department did not sign the agreement, citing constitutional issues. The Supreme Court ruled the MOA-AD unconstitutional for violating provisions regarding state ownership of public land and natural resources, the authority of the NEDA as the independent economic planning agency, and the BSP as the independent monetary authority. The Court determined that signing the MOA-AD would require amending the Constitution and effectively dismember the country.

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Deanne Mitzi Somollo
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2K views1 page

Province of North Cotabato Vs The Government (Case Digest)

The MOA-AD aimed to reach a consensus between the GRP and MILF and establish an ancestral homeland for the Bangsamoro people. However, the Executive Department did not sign the agreement, citing constitutional issues. The Supreme Court ruled the MOA-AD unconstitutional for violating provisions regarding state ownership of public land and natural resources, the authority of the NEDA as the independent economic planning agency, and the BSP as the independent monetary authority. The Court determined that signing the MOA-AD would require amending the Constitution and effectively dismember the country.

Uploaded by

Deanne Mitzi Somollo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Kim John V.

Villa

Province of North Cotabato v. GRPP on Ancestral Domain


G.R. No. 183591
October 14, 2008

FACTS: On August 5, 2008, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were scheduled to sign a Memorandum of Agreement of the
Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) Aspect of the GRP - MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001
(MOA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This public document would reach a consensus between
both parties and the aspirations of the MILF to have a Bangsamoro homeland. However, the
Executive Department did not sign the document. Invoking the right to information on matters
of public concern, the petitioners seek to compel respondents to disclose and furnish them the
complete and official copies of the MOA-AD and pray for the Court to enjoin the Executive
Department to enter into agreements similar to MOA in the future.

ISSUE: Whether or not the MOA-AD is constitutional insofar as provisions on Articles XII of the
Constitution is concerned.

RULING: No. The MOA-AD is unconstitutional. The Executive branch would amend the
Constitution to conform to the MOA-AD as it violates (1) Section 2, Article XII on State
ownership of all lands of the public domain and of all natural resources in the Philippines.
Under the MOA-AD, the ancestral domain does not form part of the public domain. The
ancestral domain of the Bangsamoro refers to entire Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan land which
they or their ancestors continuously possessed since time immemorial. This negates the
Regalian doctrine of the 1987 Constitution. Moreover, since Bangsamoro people include
indigenous minorities, MOA-AD would violate Republic Act No. 8371 (Indigenous Peoples Rights
Act of 1997) which provides for clear-cut procedure for the recognition and delineation of
ancestral domain, which entails, among other things, the observance of the free and prior
informed consent of the Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples. Notably, the
statute does not grant the Executive Department or any government agency the power to
delineate and recognize an ancestral domain claim by mere agreement or compromise; (2)
Section 9, Article XII under the Constitution which provides that the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) may head an independent economic and planning agency for
the country. Under the MOA-AD, however, the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) will have its
own economic planning agency; (3) Section 20, Article XII which establishes the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP) as an independent monetary authority. Under the MOA-AD, however, the BJE
will have its own financial and banking authority. In sum, if the Court did not stop the signing of
the MOA-AD, this country would have been dismembered because the Executive branch would
have committed to amend the Constitution to conform to the MOA-AD.

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