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Economic and Social Development – 1996

The 1996 peace agreement calls for various provisions such as the ARMM establishing its own Regional Economic and Development Planning Board, tourism promotion, authority to the ARMM to give incentives including tax holidays within its power and resources in the area of autonomy, enact a regional tax code and regional local tax code, encourage the establishment of banks and bank branches along with establishing an Islamic Banking Unit in the ARMM. The ARMM was allowed to accept foreign financial and economic grants, issue its own bonds, treasury bills and debt papers in coordination with the central bank. The peace accord calls for the fiscal autonomy of the ARMM, gives preferential rights over the exploration, development and utilization of natural resources in the autonomy area respecting existing rights on the exploration, exploitation and utilization of the natural resources. The internal revenue tax collected from the ARMM region was to be allocated for the Regional Autonomous Government, for a period of five year, in the Annual General Appropriation Act, which could be extended upon the mutual agreement between the national and regional autonomous government.

Executive Order no. 371 created the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) as a transitional body to be dissolved after the plebiscite scheduled for 1999. The SPCPD however did not lead to the establishment of the institutional frameworks called for in the accord for socio-economic development.¹

The Regional Economic and Development Planning Board was not established. Concerning Islamic banks, there was only one Islamic Bank, Al-Amanah, in the region. The Growth with Equity in Mindanao project sought to get other overseas Islamic Banks to set up branches in the ARMM region.² As provided in the accord, the ARMM was allowed to keep 80 percent of tax revenue for five years, but the amount was miniscule.³ There were no records found of the ARMM issuing treasury bills or debt papers.

1. John D. Harber, “Conflict and Compromise in the Southern Philippines: The Case of Moro Identity,” (M.A. Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, 2008).
2. “Philippines lures foreign Islamic banks,” Agence France Presse, October 25, 1996.
3. “Philippines dangles more autonomy to Moslem rebels,” Agence France Presse, February 2, 1999.