Apart from the protracted hostilities between the Moros and the State, the 1970s also saw the post-colonial conception of the Code of Muslim Personal Laws (CMPL). The Code was in compliance to Article XV Section II of the 1973 Constitution: “The State shall consider the customs, traditions, beliefs and interests of national cultural communities in the formulation and implementation of state policies…” It codified Muslim laws on marriage, divorce, property relations, and child custody, among others. The enacted Code though was limited to personal laws because of the limited preparation time to deliberate on other legal provisions, as the Civil Code statutes related to Muslims were about to end. The CMPL then was meant to thwart a legal problem that could weaken the political identity of Muslim institutions.
Implementation issues of the CMPL and other related Philippine laws
The Code was not immediately implemented though. According to the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC), the government’s Ministry of Muslim Affairs (renamed as the Office of Muslim Affairs in post-Marcos era) established the Philippine Shari'a Institute in 1982 “to provide Shari’a legal education for prospective Shari’a bar examinees, law practitioners and judges.” A year after, the first Special Bar Examinations for the Shari’a Courts was conducted; nine successful candidates were appointed as Shari’a judges and pursued further Islamic studies in Egypt. It was only in 1985 when Shari’a courts opened; thus, “the CMPL became operational – eight years after its promulgation.”
In his Sociolegal Status of Women in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand (2002), Brahm Prakash notes that the 1987 Constitution, under Pres. Corazon Aquino, stipulates in Article XIV, Section XVII the need to recognize, respect, and protect “the rights of indigenous cultural communities to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It also advocates the consideration of such rights when forming national plans and policies.” Other statutes related to Shari’a were enforced in 1989 via RA 6734 or the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and in 2001, with the Expanded ARMM Law or RA 9054. The latter allows the creation of a Shari’a legal system by the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) that would cover ARMM, Muslims “or those who profess Islam”. It also sanctions the founding of a Shari’a Appellate Court with jurisdiction over Shari’a District Courts, notes AIJC (n.d.). However, such legal system by the RLA and the appellate court have not been established yet.
Call for revisions of the CMPL
Last year, a Muslim representative filed House Bill (HB) 6337 in order for the government to establish more Shari’a courts. The bill essentially aims to improve the access of Muslims to legal services, considering that out of the current 85 million Filipinos, eight million are Muslims. This time, however, these courts should be instituted in localities outside of the ARMM where a considerable number of Filipino Muslims reside, reports Gilbert Felongco (2009).
