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Decentralization/Federalism – 1996

The Mindanao Final Agreement brokered between the MNLF and the Philippine government in 1996 called for further decentralization of power and increased autonomy for the people of the ARMM. Under the peace agreement, there would be a transition phase (Phase I) of several years characterized by intense development and aid projects, followed by another referendum on expanding the autonomous region. The peace agreement designated the current ARMM (4 provinces) along with 10 other provinces and nine cities to be a Special Zone of Peace and Development (SZOPAD). The hope of Nur Misuari and the MNLF was that the two phase process would pave the way for an expanded ARMM, as provinces would vote for inclusion after seeing the benefits of autonomous rule.¹

1. Astrid S. Tuminez, “This land is our land: Moro ancestral domain and its implications for peace and development in the Southern Philippines,” SAIS Review 27, no. 2 (2007): 77-91.