Separatism in the Philippines

Separatism in the Philippines refers to bids for secession or greater autonomy for certain areas in the Philippines. The scope of the article includes such efforts since the Philippine Revolution both currently and historical.

Southern Philippines
Several groups had advocated the independence of Mindanao, including the Sulu archipelago and Palawan from the Philippines. Such armed groups include the Moro National Liberation Front, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and the Abu Sayyaf.

Separatism during the American colonial period
Historically, several states have governed the region such as the Sulu and Maguindanao sultanates. Other entities such as Sultanate of Buayan and the Pat a Pangampong ko Ranao emerged. These states has resisted attempts by the Spanish Empire to totally subjugate the area. Nevertheless, the Spanish ceded the whole of Philippine archipelago in the Treaty of Paris of 1898. The United States later took control over the area, governing it as part of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands.

Anticipating that the United States would decolonize the islands and grant the Philippines full independence, Moro leaders has expressed opposition their territories to be included in a future Philippine state. Such instances of this sentiment being expressed include:


 * June 9, 1921 – Petition of the people of the Sulu islands to the United States that it prefers to be part of the United States rather than be included in an independent Philippines
 * June 9, 1921 Declaration of Rights and Purposes – Issued by Bangsamoro leaders in Zamboanga regarding the status of Mindanao island, Palawan and the Sulu archipelago
 * Proposal to convert the region to a separate unorganized territory of the United States.
 * If the Philippines granted independence with the Moro territories included in such state; a plebiscite shall be held to determine the status of Mindanao, Palawan, and Sulu islands 50 years after the independence of the Philippines.
 * March 18, 1935 Dansalan Declaration – petition by Maranao leaders not to include Mindanao and Sulu if the Philippines was granted independence.

Kamlon uprising
More secessionism continued after the United States granted the Philippines full independence on July 4, 1946. Hadji Kamlon launched a rebellion. As a response Sulu's Representative Ombra Amilbangsa filed House Bill No. 5682 in the House of Representatives during the 4th Congress which proposed granting independence for the Sulu islands.

MIM and BMLO
The Muslim Independence Movement arose in 1968 following the Jabidah massacre which advocated secession of the Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan areas. The organization was later renamed the Mindanao Independence Movement so it could be inclusive to non-Muslims. The Blackshirts was an alleged armed wing of the MIM. By 1969, the group has received financial support from Malaysia but failed to garner wider support from the Moros.

The MIM would be disbanded in 1970 after meeting with then President Ferdinand Marcos. Leaders from the disbanded MIM, both students and older lead figures, would form the Bangsa Moro Liberation Organization (BMLO) but the organization would be disbanded due to internal conflict.

Moro National Liberation Front
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was established as a result of the Jabidah massacre. While it's unclear when the MNLF was actually established it considers the date of the incident, March 18, 1968, as its foundation date. The MNLF had Nur Misuari as its first chairman and one of its early meetings was in October 1972 in Pangkor Island in Malaysia.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led by Hashim Salamat splintered off from the MNLF when it abandoned its bid for independence in 1978. The MILF formally dropped its bid for independence when it signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro with the Philippine national government in 2012.

Canoy and Noble proposals
Reuben Canoy, leader of the Mindanao People's Democratic Movement and former presidential candidate had an averted plan to declare the Federal Republic of Mindanao in 1986. Four years later, the 1990 Mindanao crisis arose where Col. Alexander Noble led a mutiny and proclaimed an independent Federal Republic of Mindanao. Noble along with Canoy, who is also involved as a civilian supporter, was arrested by government authorities but claimed that his effort was successful since it brought into attention issues affecting Mindanao.

Alvarez proposal
Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez has advocated for the secession of Mindanao from the Philippines. He reportedly held the stance as early as 2005 when Rodrigo Duterte, then the Mayor of Davao City, advocated for the Christian-majority portion of Mindanao to secede in the event President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was deposed by a revolution or coup d'état. Alvarez had advocated an independence declaration "with or without GMA".

In November 2023, Alvarez proposed that Mindanao should push for independence if the national Philippine government continues to pursue its claim in the South China Sea dispute. In his opinion, pursuing the claim will drag Mindanao into an armed conflict if the national government continues its policy regarding China and expressed reluctance on the United States commitment to side with the Philippines in a potential military confrontation.

In January 2024, amidst a People's Initiative bid launched to revise the Philippine constitution, Duterte has said that Alvarez is planning to launch a signature campaign proposing Mindanao independence. Alvarez has reiterated his support for Mindanao independence.

In February 27, 2024, Duterte backtracked and called his earlier pronouncements as a bluff. However Alvarez would still affirm that he is still pursuing said advocacy stating that there is "no rush" to declare an independent Mindanao.

The proposed independent Mindanao state both of the mid-2000s and the early 2020s was named the Federal Republic of Mindanao and would have a federal form of government

The mid-2000s proposal had eight constituent states, a national flag and a national anthem entitled "Land of Promise". Meanwhile the early 2020s proposal had six constituent states and a flag. Bukidnon was proposed as the capital. The Mindanao and Sabah Alliance (MASADA) stated that the Malaysian state of Sabah which was historically part of the Sulu Sultanate, is also part of the proposed state.

Abu Sayyaf
The Abu Sayyaf was formed in 1991 splintering from the Moro National Liberation Front with Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani as its founder. Its professed goal is to establish an Islamic state comprising Mindanao, the Sulu archipelago, and Palawan as well as areas outside the Philippines specifically Borneo and southern Thailand. The group split into two main factions after Janjalani's death, whose leaders in turn were killed in 2006 and 2007 which led to Abu Sayyaf splitting into several more factions. In 2014, several factions of the Abu Sayyaf swore allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which aims to establish a larger Islamic state of its own.

Greater autonomy
This includes efforts to secure greater autonomy for areas or regions in the Philippines while remaining an integral part of the country. Either this efforts involve the creation of an autonomous region within a unitary state or grassroot movements for the creation of a certain subdivision within a federal Philippines.

BansaSug
At the Bangsa Sug Summit in 2018, participants of the convention including claimants of the Sultanate of Sulu, called for the creation of a Bansa Sug federal state consisting of the Sulu archipelago provinces and Zamboanga Peninsula. They also campaigned for the option to "opt-out" from the then-proposed Bangsamoro autonomous region.

Bangsamoro
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is the sole extant autonomous region in the Philippines. It was established after a peace deal between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which originally pursued for independence. The region was established in 2019 after a two-part plebiscite and succeeded the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Previously the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity was attempted to be established as part of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MO-AD) between the MILF and the Philippine government under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2008. However the MO-AD was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Federal State of the Visayas
The Federal State of the Visayas was an independent revolutionary state during the Philippine Revolution. Its proponents intended it to be a subunit of the Philippines under a federal form of government.

Legality
It is impossible for any part of the Philippines to legally secede without amending the current 1987 Constitution, which includes a provision mandating the protection of the "territorial integrity of the Philippines".