Separation of Church and State: The Philippines violates its 1987 constitution

Stand for what you believe in but not at the expense of others. Support the freedom of religion. Do not impose your religion on others. Give them the choice. A country that advocates "the separation of church and state" should never support any religion financially.

Do you have an opinion regarding the inconsistency and the violation of the "separaton of church and state"? click to post.

It would be a long and tedious process for a leader who does not want war to fully implement "separation of church and state". First and foremost would be the dissemination of information as to why there is a need for the adherence to the constitutional provision of the "separation of church state". Make it an educational requirement for schools to explain the need for the "separation of church and state". Let the religions of the Philippines be aware that the government will stick to this resolution. From there congress can take over. With the help of God.

The Philippines violates the Separation of Church and State in its 1987 Constitution

The Philippines violates the Separation of Church and State in its 1987 Constitution. The Constitution of the Philippines declares: The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable. (Article II, Section 6), and, No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights. (Article III, Section 5).

Article 3 forbids the government from passing any law concerning religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, guarantees free exercise of religion and forbids the use of any religious test for public office. Churches and religious institutions are tax-exempt. No public money may be spent in support of any religion. The teaching of religious classes in public schools is permitted with the written consent of the parent so long as provided there is no cost to the government. Religious organizations register with the Securities and Exchange Commission to apply for tax exemption.

Article 6, section 29 (2): states "No public money or property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion.."

All of the above is true, but why is the Philippine government financially supporting the religion of Islam via the NCMF, the ARMM and now the Bangsamoro?

Note: The developer of this site (Frank Maletsky), is appealing to all of academia, political leaders, and other religious leaders to say something about this. Whether you are for this violation or against it. Say something. Why does the Philippines favor one religion (ISLAM) over the rest?

Bangsamoro (Moroland) (Moronation): Bangsa: A Malaysian word meaning Nation

As defined by Wikipedia: "The Moro people or Bangsamoro are a population of indigenous Muslims in the Philippines, forming the largest non-Catholic group in the country, and comprising about 5% of the total Philippine population." This definition contradicts itself. Wikipedia defines bangsamoro as a "religious group" by calling them non-Catholics.

Muslims are not indigenous people. Muslims belong to the religion of Islam. Muslims are comprised of different cultures, races, and different ethnicities all over the world. It is unfortunate that most of the Philippine academia, leaders, politicians and lawyers follow the same incorrect definition of wikipedia.

The Philippine government financially supports only one religion and that is the religion of (Islam). Those who practice the religion of Islam are called Muslims. The Bangsamoro is run by Muslims.

We will not go article by article or section by section of what the BBL is about. You may peruse over the basic law yourself. Here is the link to the Draft for a law to create the Bangsamoro - 122 pages.

If the BBL is passed it will replace the existing ARMM. The Bangsamoro is a bigger blanket that covers more space and also requires more governmental budget.

This budget is what the Filipino people should be concerned about. The Moro people or Bangsamoro want to be defined as "indigenous Muslims in the Philippines". The Philippine government goes along with this and therefore classifying Muslims in the Philippines as an ethnicity. But there is an intrinsic problem with this definition. It violates the 1987 constitution of the Philippines. Hey, being Muslim does NOT make the person indigenous, being Muslim makes that person a follower of Islam or one who practices the religion of Islam but in no way does it automatically make him/her indigenous. Continue reading below....

The Philippine Government claims that The Philippines has the Freedom of Religion and the Separation of Church and State

In 1987 the constitution of The Philippines created the Separation of Church and State

• As far as the "Freedom of Religion" unquestionably the Philippines protects that.
• As far as the law of the Separation of Church and State, and whether the Philippines is actually following that law in the constitution, is up for debate.
• Article VI, Section 29, part (2) states: "No public money or property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion, or of any priest, preacher, minister, other religious teacher, or dignitary as such, except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces, or to any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium."
  • The 3 items below, don't they violate the constitution's Article VI, Section 29, part (2)?

1. In 1987 Executive Order No. 122-A, created the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA). This office served only the Muslim people and not the non-muslims. This office answered only to the President of the Philippines.
2. In August 1, 1989 just two years later, The Philippines through Republic Act No. 6734 otherwise known as the Organic Act created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM. Non-Muslims are not allowed to participate in the ARMM government. Then referred to Mindanao as Muslim Mindanao
3. In 2010 the "National Commission on Muslim Filipinos" replaced the "Office of Muslim Affairs". This office still falls under the same umbrella and that is, it reports only to the President of the Philippines.
   • Non-Muslims can't participate in this commission. Non-Muslims can't benefit from this commission and this commission will not serve non-muslims. This commission is funded by the government and answers only to the President of the Philippines.

• Every year the Philippine government provides a budget (billions of pesos) for both the ARMM and the NCMF. Both of these entities are Muslim Entities. Both religious entities under the religion of Islam (Muslim).
  • So what does this do to Article 2 section 6 which states: The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.?

Inequality in how The Philippine government looks at Religion

• The Philippines claims separation of church and state. Meaning not one centavo will go to the support of any religion from the tax payers money.
• Yet there is the NCMF (National Commision on Muslim Filipinos) financed by the government. The Muslims belong to the religion of Islam.
• The government has no existing program to support Iglesia ni Cristo, Aglipayans, Seventh day Adventists, Catholics or any other religion because the government says that it is against the constitution and that it violates the "separation of church and state". But it is OK to financially support the Muslims.
• The government has the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for the support of all the indigenous people of the Philippines. Doesn't it bother the government officials that a religion is getting more money than the indigenous people?
  • National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has P35.46 million as of 2016.
  • The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos has P469.67 million in 2016.

Why does The Philippine government financially support ISLAM (the Muslims) and not the other religions?

Islam in the 1300's was securely situated in the archipelago which is now called the Philippines. (Read snap shot of moro history). The Spaniards arrived in 1521 and proceeded to gradually remove Islam and establish Christianity. In 1898, the Americans came and took the Philippines from Spain. By then most of ISLAM has been eliminated from Luzon and the Visayas. Most of the Muslims retreated to the southern island of Mindanao. During the American colonialism, the word MORO was gradually integrated into government, which the U.S.A. equated to non-Christians. The government then made the word Moro synonymous with Muslim. Later in the Philippines the word "Muslim" was defined as an ethnicity and as a minority indigenous people. So in effect The Philippine government did not classify "Muslim" as a person who practices the religion of Islam but instead as an indigenous people. From there it all unfolded.

Note: To this date Muslim advocates continue to lobby the government to hold on to the definition that a Muslim person is an indigenous person regardless of race or tribe.

1. The Philippine organic act of 1902:

   Section 7. That two years after the completion and publication of the census, in case such condition of general and complete peace with recognition of the authority of the United States shall have continued in the territory of said Islands not inhabited by Moros or other non-Christian tribes and such facts shall have been certified to the President by the Philippine Commission, the President upon being satisfied thereof shall direct Commission to call, and the Commission shall call, a general election for the choice of delegates to a popular assembly of the people of said territory in the Philippine Islands, which shall be known as the Philippine Assembly. After said Assembly shall have convened and organised, all the legislative power heretofore conferred on the Philippine Commission in all that part of said Islands not inhabited by Moros or other non-Christian tribes shall be vested in a Legislature consisting of two Houses – the Philippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly. Said Assembly shall consist of not less than fifty nor more than one hundred members to be apportioned by said Commission among the provinces as nearly as practicable according to population:Provided, that no province shall have less than one member: And provided further, that provinces entitled by population to more than one member may be divided into such convenient district as the said Commission may deem best....Read on...

   Note: This is how the meaning of the word moro or muslim in the Philippines got skewed. This was the jumping board that enabled the members of legislature favoring Islam to define the Muslim Filipino as indigenous people.

   The Americans started the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes which then later became an independent agency called the commission on national integration (CNI)

2. October 11, 1965: The first Philippines official Muslim Community Site: Proclamation No. 472, s. 1965: created the Muslim Community Site carved out of the barangay of Rio Hondo, Zamboanga City

   Rio Hondo, Zamboanga City became the first recognized official "Muslim" community in the Philippines.

3. The founding of The Moro National Liberation Front or Mindanao National Liberation Front (MNLF): A secessionist political organization in the Philippines that was founded by Nur Misuari in 1969.
4. 1975: Creation of SPDA:

   By presidential decree 690 dated April 22, 1975 (ratified by PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 719 May 30, 1975), then President Ferdinand E. Marcos created the Southern Philippine Development Authority (SPDA) which took over the government programs for the Muslims and later became the Ministry of Muslim Affairs and the Presidential Assistance on National Minorities (PANAMIN), which took over the government programs for the Non-Muslim or other tribal groups. One of its main tasks was to integrate into the mainstream of society certain ethnic groups which seek full integration into the larger community and at the same time protect the rights of those who wish to preserve their original way of life beside the larger community.

   This later became OMA(Office of Muslims Affairs) and currently NCMF (National Commission of Muslim Filipinos), whose sole purpose is to attend to the welfare of Muslims and spread Islam.

5. 1976 Tripoli Agreement:

   The establishment of Autonomy in the Southern Philippines within the realm of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.

6. 1984: A rift within the MNLF created the MILF. This organization was formally established in 1984 as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Muammar Gaddafi (leader of Libya) became a longstanding supporter of the MILF after its emergence.
7. The 1987 Constitution: Declaring Mindanao as "Muslim Mindanao"
8. 1989 Organic Act: Republic Act No. 6734 August 1, 1989, creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao - ARMM
9. 2007 conflict: Let to the "Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain" pushed by MILF which then created the Coined name of the entitiy of "Bangsamoro"

   On August 4, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the Government and the MILF from officially signing the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, which would conclude all dispute and begin formal talks that would lead to the drafting and eventual signing of a Final Comprehensive Compact between the two groups. This led to continued negotiations in Malaysia.

   This continued on to emerge as led by the new entity Bangsamoro to this current date.

10. 2014: The Bangsamoro Basic Law was introduced and currently under negotiation.
11. 2016 January: BBL defeated. But it is not over. The NCMF and the ARMM is still active.

Muslim is not an Ethnicity

Muslim by definition is an individual practicing the religion of ISLAM. Not all the Muslim people in the Philippines are indigenous. There are several races in the Philippines practicing the religion of Islam and they are Muslims. But not all of them are indigenous. Take the Chinese Muslims in Tawi-Tawi, the Indian Muslim in Zamboanga, or the caucasian Muslim in CDO; all three belong to different races and ethnicity.

The Philippine government should support Ethnic and indigenous tribes but not a RELIGION

All the Ethnic and indigenous tribes in the Philippines should be supported by the government. Below are some of the tribes in Mindanao.

1. Tausugs
2. Yakans
3. Badjaos
4. T'Boli
5. B'laan
6. Higaunon
7. Subanen (Subanon)

Will The Philippines be a more prosperous Country if it is an ISLAMIC country?

There is a great possibility that the Philippines may be a better country if it is an Islamic country. Read this Article.

The Philippines has congressmen and women in a contest to create laws. The problem is, once approved they are rarely enforced. There is an obvious lack of discipline. Maybe Islam can bring that much needed discipline to the country.

What to do to Make the Philippine government follow the "Separation of Church and State"

1. Remember that this is not a "religious" problem. This is a government problem.
2. Do not be quiet about this problem. Let others know and be aware of this situation.
3. Let as many government officials know about this.
4. Write to your local congress representative.
5. If you belong to a church, write to the government and ask for a donation to your church. Remind the government representative that you are asking because you just want fairness. If the government is financially supporting the Muslims, why not your church?

Complacency and indifference on the part of other religious leaders fueled Bangsamoro

• All the religious leaders know that the Muslims are getting financial support from the government.
• They all know that for the government to financially support the Muslims, is against the constitution of the Philippines and is a violation of Article VI, Section 29, part (2) which states: "No public money or property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion, or of any priest, preacher, minister, other religious teacher, or dignitary as such, except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces, or to any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium."
• The religious leaders are sitting on the fence. They do not want to make a decision and therefore doing a disservice to the people.
• This situation would not have escalated to this stage of almost critical mass had these religious leaders made it their responsibility to educate the people on as to what the "separation of church and state" meant.
  • But they are afraid to criticize the government because they do not want to "offend" the religion of Islam. What they don't realize is that, this is a stand that is not against Islam or the Muslims. But rather a stand against the government for violating the constitution.
  • Islam is a religion of peace and promotes peace. The embedded fear is uncalled for and the failure of the religious leaders to educate themselves and their followers only fuels this fear.

Snap shot of the history of Islam in the Philippines

Prior to the arrival of ISLAM, the early occupants of the archipelago practiced Animism (the worship of spirits). The archipelago was divided into ruling tribes with Datus as their chieftains.

The earliest historical writings claims that the fist arrival of Islam was in the Sulu archipelago in 1310 (14th Century). The conversion of the natives into Islam was gradual. The early Muslim missionaries had the opportunity to gather the tribes under one religion, the religion of Islam. There were other religions but they were not entrenched in politics and governance as Islam was.

So as Islam gained its spread starting from the south to the north, they met no resistance for over 200 years. Islam enjoyed and prospered in the spread of its religion and its governance by practicing the law of the Qur'an and attaching the title of Sultan to the highest ruler of an area. The sultan (arabic in origin) became a higher position of leadership than the native tribal Datu (tribal chieftain Philippine origin).

The Datus were already in place as chieftains of tribes before Islam set foot in the Philippines. The earliest history tells the story of a Datu Dinagandan who was a chieftain of Aklan in the island of Panay during the 12th century. Way before the recorded arrival of Islam (year 1310) in the Philippines. These tribes were the ancestors of the current INDIGENOUS peoples of the Philippines. These tribes existed with their own autonomy before the Muslims converted them into the religion of Islam.

To this date these indigenous peoples still wear their traditional garb mistaken for Muslim attire. Many of the tribal traditions were assimilated by the Muslims who now inaccurately call it as Muslim originated.

Then when the Spaniards arrived in the archipelago in 1521 and brought Christianity with it, Islam confronted competition in the archipelago for the first time. From that moment on Islam no longer had monopoly in the Philippines. This gave the indigenous tribes in the Philippines the opportunity to choose to be Christians, Muslims, or neither of the two.

Since the tribal rulers were mostly already Muslims, the rebellions where considered religious. It became a battle between the crescent and the cross. The members of the tribes who continued to maintain the religion of Islam and totally rejected Christianity were chased away from their own villages and most went south. The tribes who remained had to chose to either convert to Christianity, remain as Muslims or stay non-religious but they all had to pledge allegiance to their new Spanish leaders.

This continued on.....

Today the Philippines has the NCIP National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the NCMF National commission on Muslim Filipinos. The ncip (indigenous people) gets a yearly budget of 35M and the ncmf (a religion) gets a yearly of budget of over 500M.

The Muslims continue to push to regain autonomy in the Philippines. Ever since the Americans made the mistake of classifying the indigenous peoples of Mindanao as Moros(Muslims) in 1902, the light at the end of the tunnel was seen by the Muslim people. They knew that it would just be a matter of time and with continued persistence, the archipelago will be theirs again.

Politically supporting the right president is key in winning the battle for autonomy. The current president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III (2010-2016) is against the "separation of church and state". Aquino is pro Bangsamoro and is willing to do anything to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law. It is no longer a question as to "if" this bill will pass, it is a question of as to "when" it will pass.

Disclaimer

We shout for peace. We pray for the amicability of all religions in the Philippines. We are not against the practice of any Religion. We are in favor of the "Freedom of Religion". We are also an advocate for the "Separation of Church and State", specially when it is specifically stated in the constitution.