By Atty Lanang Ali

What is the meaning of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, in short MOA-AD? This column will help the reader understand better about the meaning and nature of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, in short MOA-AD. We hope that after reading this column, the readers especially for those with biase and prejudiced mind against the MOA-AD will be clarified and instead appreciate it. In its technical sense the word “Memorandum� literally means “let it be remembered�, be it a note or a writing, or a record or a memorial or instrument that is kept to help the reader to easily remember or recollect, such acts, activities, actions done or to be done or transacted, informally at a consensus on such agreed transaction they have reduced into writing in respect of anything relating to such act, action, transaction or activity.
Â
When the Parties affixed and the witness signed it, it became formal document, or instrument on which the said transactions an agreements are recorded. A compilation of these formal documents or agreements then became the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) of the Bangsamoro People.

In its socio-economic-political sense, the MOA-AD of the Bangsamoro People refers to the instrument establishing for all intents and purposes the identity and posterity, protection of or entrenching the Bangsamoro homeland, as a territorial space or communities of the Bangsamoro people with its own historic homeland, distinct from the communities of the so-called “Non-Christian Provinces�;

As an aspect on how to solve the Bangsamoro problem vis-à -vis the Mindanao conflict, the MOA-AD refers to the territory, resources, and governance for the Bangsamoro people. It simply means statement of fact or of facts, agreed by the parties as true and correct, signed by the parties, and submitted by them to the Malaysian Facilitator for safekeeping and to witness its due execution; that affect the Ancestral Domain of the Bangsamoro people flowing from such agreed facts on the territory, resources, and governance, and its concept principles, including the history of the Bangsamoro people.    Â


As to the MOA-AD of the Bangsamoro People, some critics of the MOA-AD, without it knowing that actually they become obstacles to peace, have said that virtually the MOA-AD is a document creating a sovereign state distinct and separate from the Republic of the Philippines. If you read MOA-AD word by word you cannot find conclusion of fact. In the absence of proof to that effect, a conclusion coming from a bias or prejudiced mind against a Bangsamoro rule, in whatever form cannot be countenanced. They just don’t know or realize that under the Philippine Constitution, the State, by recognizing the right of tribal Filipinos to their ancestral lands and domains, has effectively upheld their right to live in a culture distinctly their own. Under the 1973 Constitution, for the first time in Philippine history, the “Non- Christian tribes� or the “cultural minorities� were addressed by the Philippine constitution, and they were referred to cultural communities. The Muslim tribes of Mindanao belong to these cultural communities. So there is no problem as to existence of MOA-AD insofar as the Philippine Constitution is concerned. In the MOA-AD is known these cultural communities are known by its native name as Bangsamoro people. As actually, there is no conflict between the two, both parties should now sign the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain of the Bangsamoro People.


As to the right of self-governance as envisioned in the MOA-AD of the Bangsamoro People, it is very clear that it envisions an Autonomy, as a product of negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), under the facilitation of the Government of Malaysia, designating a Facilitator, to facilitate the negotiations of the parties. Should the MOA-AD be signed by the parties, what may be negotiated by the parties is the authority for its legitimacy. This can done should the GRP will work out for such legitimacy of the MOA-AD, any way the same is a part of the law making process. In the end everybody will be happy.Â

By then, the unresolved political issue in the MOA-AD, is the creation of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), which can be resolved during the negotiations of the Comprehensive Compact. Anyway regarding the creation of the BJE, the Parties have already agreed on the authority of the BJE as stipulated in the MOA-AD, that the BJE will be the local governance for the Bangsamoro People in Mindanao. What will be the subject of negotiations by the parties are the details thereof, such as  the Organizational structure; powers and functions; officers of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) and their duties or responsibilities; etc. Since the MILF is interested for the creation of the BJE, it is but proper for the MILF to submit its proposals to the Negotiating parties to discuss it.

Unlike the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which is an autonomy, as a consequence of legislation such as Republic Act No. 9054, which was enacted into law wherein the ARMM was imposed on the MNLF has absolutely no say or   participation, whatsoever, in its creation. In the case of BJE, being a product of negotiation, a covenant is signed by the parties voluntarily it is agreed by the parties that the GRP work out for its legitimacy as stated above. By such arrangement, the GRP will take good care of the continued existence of BJE for the welfare of the Bangsamoro people as agreed in the MOA-AD and Comprehensive Compact.Â