PROVINCE OF COTABATO Vs.

GRP PANEL ON ANCESTRAL DOMAIN

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were scheduled to sign a
Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD). This Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain Aspect of the
GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement of Peace of 2001 is a codification of consensus points reached between GRP and MILF Peace Panel and of
the aspiration of the MILF to have a Bangasmoro Homeland
According to the stipulations in the MOA-AD, Ownership of the Bangasmoro Homeland is vested to the Bangasmoro people. MOA-AD
describes the Bangasmoro people as the first nation with defined territory and with a system of government having entered into treaties of
amity and commerce with foreign nations. The Bangasmoro Juridical Entity (BJE) is granted by the MOA-AD the authority and jurisdiction
over the Ancestral Domain andAncestral Lands of the Bangasmoro. It was also stipulated that BJE shall have jurisdiction over all natural
resources within its internal waters.
ISSUE: Whether MOA-AD is Unconstitutional
HELD:
Yes. The MOA-AD is unconstitutional because it cannot be reconciled with the present constitution. Not only its specific provisions but the
very concept underlying them. The associative relationship between the GRP and the BJE is unconstitutional because the concept
presupposes that the associated entity is a state and implies that the same is on its way to independence.
the MOA-AD, contains many provisions which are consistent with the international legal concept of association, specifically the following:
the BJEs capacity to enter into economic and trade relations with foreign countries, the commitment of the Central Government to ensure
the BJEs participation in meetings and events in the ASEAN and the specialized UN agencies, and the continuing responsibility of the
Central Government over external defense. Moreover, the BJEs right to participate in Philippine official missions bearing on negotiation
of border agreements, environmental protection, and sharing of revenues pertaining to the bodies of water adjacent to or between the
islands forming part of the ancestral domain, resembles the right of the governments of FSM and the Marshall Islands to be consulted by
the U.S. government on any foreign affairs matter affecting them.
These provisions of the MOA indicate, among other things, that the Parties aimed to vest in the BJE the status of an associated
state or, at any rate, a status closely approximating it.
The concept of association is not recognized under the present Constitution. No province, city, or municipality, not even the ARMM, is
recognized under our laws as having an associative relationship with the national government. Indeed, the concept implies powers that
go beyond anything ever granted by the Constitution to any local or regional government. It also implies the recognition of the associated
entity as a state. The Constitution, however, does not contemplate any state in this jurisdiction other than the Philippine State, much less
does it provide for a transitory status that aims to prepare any part of Philippine territory for independence