Filipino Muslims and Issues of Governance in the Philippines: Some Thoughts by a Local Practitioner
This article adopts the general theme of governance to provide an institutional framework for law reform and constitutional regime. To look into the political culture and religion of Filipinos is to ask why there is much reliance on law with an internal dynamics of hostility to all things religious in public life. The author employs the democracy argument to raise asymmetrical issues in a constitutional regime within the context of ‘the national state’ rather than problematise it as a majority versus minority relation. This makes it possible, for instance, to consider the Bangsamoro in the Philippines as a ‘people’ in legal terms and in reference to ‘state-nations’ instead of ‘nation-states’. The author also treats the dimension of international law regarding the right to self-determination with respect to the current peace negotiations between the government of the Philippines and armed non-state actors (MILF and MNLF). One might not necessarily agree with all that is stated in this contribution, which is intended to be an essay rather than a scholarly paper, but, nevertheless, it grants some insights into the mindset of contemporary Muslims in the Philippines.