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April 17, 1977 1989 → | ||||||||||||||||
| Outcome |
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| There being one autonomous region (yes) or more than one (no) | ||||||||||||||||
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| National government controlling the autonomous regions | ||||||||||||||||
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The1977 Southern Philippines autonomy plebiscite was a plebiscite to create an autonomous region (or two) held on April 17, 1977 in parts ofMindanao andPalawan in thePhilippines.
The Philippine national government and theMoro National Liberation Front signed theTripoli Agreement which was brokered byLibya underMuammar Gaddafi on December 23, 1976 where it was agreed that an autonomous region in the southern Philippines would be created. The Philippine government insisted for a plebiscite to be held.[1]
Originally scheduled to be held on February 21, 1977,[2] the plebiscite was delayed to March 17 of the same year.[3] The vote was postponed again to April 17, 1977.
The delay in the implementation caused tensions between the two parties. As a compromise, Gaddafi, the special envoy andFirst LadyImelda Marcos came up with a proposal for the Philippine government to proclaim an autonomous region with a provisional government.[1] On March 25, 1977, a provisional autonomous region known as Southern Philippines covering the areas under the scope of the then-planned plebiscite was declared.[4][5]
TheMoro National Liberation Front urged for aboycott of the plebiscite.[6] But voting was still held.
Participants of the plebiscite voted in favor of autonomy for Western Mindanao (Region IX) and Central Mindanao (Region XII) while a proposal to merge the regions into one autonomous region was rejected.[7]
The plebiscite covered the following areas:[3]
Southern Tagalog – Region IV
Western Mindanao – Region IX
Southern Mindanao – Region XI
Central Mindanao – Region XII
| Preface |
|---|
| Pursuant to the Tripoli Agreement of December 23, 1976 and the agreement between President Marcos of the Philippines and President Ghaddafi of March 18-19, 1977, President Marcos issued proclamation No. 1628 declaring autonomy in the Provinces of Lanao de Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Palawan, Davao del Sur and South Cotabato. The agreement between President Marcos and President Ghaddafi also provides that the people be asked how to organize themselves administratively within the areas of the autonomy through a referendum. |
| Basic questions |
1. There is a proposal that these 13 provinces will be finally organized into a single region of the autonomy. Do you approve such a proposal?
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2. There is a proposal that the administrative system in the area of the autonomy will be ruled or controlled by the Moro National Liberation Front with full and complete authority.
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3. There is a proposal that the region of the autonomy will have its own flag, official language and seal separate and distinct from the flag, national language and seal of the National Government.
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4. There is a proposal that the region of the autonomy be called autonomous Bangsamoro Islamic Region and the inhabitants thereof the Bangsamoro.
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5. There is a proposal that the region of the autonomy shall have its own Court of Appeals and Supreme Court to be created by the Government of the region of the autonomy.
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6. There is a proposal to grant to the region of the autonomy the power of general legislation including taxation similar to that of the national assembly of the National Government.
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7. There is a proposal to empower the MNLF to organize and utilize in the region of the autonomy a security force to maintain peace and order separate from the outside of the supervision and control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Integrated National Police or any other office or offices of the National Government.
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8. There is a proposal that the Executive Council of the region of the autonomy shall be headed by a chief minister and a deputy chief minister to be elected by the regional legislative assembly with the concurrence of the central committee of the MNLF and who shall be the commander-in-chief of the regional security force with the power to organize, control and supervise its operations and activities.
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9. There is a proposal that the accounts of the region of the autonomy shall be audited only by a regional commission and not by the National Commission on Audit, as provided by the Philippine Constitution.
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10. There is a proposal that the Administrative system in the region of the autonomy shall be under the general supervision and control of the National Government of the Philippines through its appropriate instrumentalities as provided for in the proposal of the Batasang Bayan adopted in its special session last 14 February 1977 which includes the creation of a regional assembly with members elected by the qualified voters of the region and an executive council to be chosen by the regional assembly who may or may not be members of the said assembly.
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| Additional questions |
For voters in the province of Tawi-Tawi |
For voters in the Provinces of Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato and Maguindanao |
For voters in the Province of Basilan |
Davao del Sur,Palawan andSouth Cotabato rejected inclusion to the Regional Autonomous Government.
A yes vote meant there should be just one autonomous region, while a no vote meant the existing regional setup should then determine how many autonomous regions there should be.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No | 2,939,991 | 97.86 |
| Yes | 64,401 | 2.14 |
| Total votes | 3,004,392 | 100.00 |
| Source:Associated Press via The Evening News | ||
| 1977 Southern Philippines autonomy plebiscite results (excluding invalid votes) | |
|---|---|
| Against 2,939,991 (97.9%) | |
| ▲ 50% | |
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 2,499,375 | 97.44 |
| No | 65,612 | 2.56 |
| Valid votes | 2,564,987 | 99.18 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 21,176 | 0.82 |
| Total votes | 2,586,163 | 100.00 |
| Source:PD 1618, s. 1979 | ||
| 1977 Southern Philippines autonomy plebiscite results (excluding invalid votes) | |
|---|---|
| For 2,499,375 (97.4%) | |
| ▲ 50% | |
Voters inTawi-Tawi voted to confirm the creation of their province fromSulu.
Voters inMaguindanao, North Cotabato (nowCotabato) andSultan Kudarat voted to confirm the division of theold province of Cotabato.
Voters inBasilan approved to confirm the conversion of their province from a city.
Two Regional Autonomous Governments (RAGs) in Western Mindanao and Central Mindanao were established which the MNLF protested since they prefer a single autonomous region. Furthermore voters from outside these regions rejected the inclusion of their localities to these autonomous areas.[9]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:"Presidential Decree No. 1111, s. 1977".Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. March 30, 1977. RetrievedJune 17, 2022.
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