Sharia in the Philippines

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A Quran originating from the Bangsamoro region. Mindanao Bangsamoro Qu'ran (25065258092).jpg
A Quran originating from the Bangsamoro region.

Shari'ah or Islamic law is partially implemented in the legal system of the Philippines and is applicable only to Muslims. Shari'ah courts in the country are under the supervision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Contents

Shari'ah courts in the Philippines has jurisdiction over the Muslim-majority Bangsamoro as well as other parts of Mindanao outside that autonomous region.

Background

The Shari'ah court system in the Philippines was a result of the Presidential Decree 1083 issued by then-President Ferdinand Marcos on February 7, 1977, which is also known as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws on the advice of the now-defunct Commission on National Integration. [1] Shari'ah courts are under the administrative supervision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. [2] Shari'ah in the country only deals with Muslim customary and personal laws [3] [4] and exclude criminal law.

Republic Act 6734, which was the Organic Law of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao recognized the two district courts under the now defunct autonomous region and also provided for the establishment of a Shari'ah Appellate Court, [5] however such court was never established.

The Organic Law which served as the foundation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao provides for the formation of a Shari'ah High Court for the region. [6]

Organization

Shari'ah District Courts

There are five Shari'ah District Courts in the Philippines, all of which has territorial jurisdiction over areas in Mindanao. [2] The Shari'ah District Court is roughly equivalent to the Regional Trial Court in the regular and secular Philippine court system. [7]

Judicial RegionLocationJurisdictions
First Shari'ah District Court Jolo, Sulu Sulu
Second Shari'ah District Court Bongao, Tawi-Tawi Tawi-Tawi
Third Shari'ah District Court Zamboanga City Basilan
Zamboanga del Norte
Zamboanga del Sur [lower-alpha 1]
Dipolog
Pagadian
Zamboanga City
Fourth Shari'ah District Court Marawi Lanao del Norte
Lanao del Sur
Iligan
Marawi
Fifth Shari'ah District Court Cotabato City Maguindanao
North Cotabato
Sultan Kudarat
Cotabato City
Kidapawan
Sharia District Courts of the Philippines.svg

Shari'ah Circuit Courts

There are 51 circuit courts in Mindanao. Their scope is comparable to that of the regular court system's city and municipal courts. [7]

Bangsamoro Shari'ah High Court

The Bangsamoro Organic Law, which became effective as of August 10, 2018, [8] has provisions for the creation of a Shari'ah High Court for the Bangsamoro region. The high court will, if and when realized, have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over Shari'ah districts within the autonomous region. [6]

Application

Personal status laws

Marriage

The Code of Muslim Personal Laws covers marriage done under Islamic rites. The same also recognizes divorce contrary to the Family Code of the Philippines which does not recognize divorce, barring most non-Muslim Filipinos from legally ending their marriage. Divorce between a non-Muslim and a Muslim is also recognized such as the divorce case of a Christian woman and a Muslim man who were married under Islamic rites which was upheld in 2016 by the Supreme Court. [9]

Under the Muslim code a husband may seek for a "perpetual divorce" from his wife or invoke li'an to end his marriage if his spouse commits adultery. The wife may seek the termination of her marriage with her husband by invoking faskh if certain conditions are met including if her spouse commits "unusual cruelty", suffers from insanity or affliction of an incurable disease, or neglects family support for six consecutive months. Talaq divorce may be invoked "may be effected by the husband in a single repudiation of his wife" after totally abstaining from sexual relations with his spouse. [9]

Financial laws

Al-Amanah Islamic Bank outlet in San Juan, Metro Manila Al-Amanah Islamic Bank San Juan, Metro Manila branch.jpg
Al-Amanah Islamic Bank outlet in San Juan, Metro Manila

Until 2019, there were no current framework legislation in effect that would allow the establishments of Islamic banks or banks compliant with Shari'ah. On August 22, 2019, Republic Act 11439 which is also known as "An Act Providing for the Regulation and Organization of Islamic Banks" was signed into law. Said legislation became effective on September 15, 2019 and introductory regulations for Islamic banks were released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country's central bank on December 31, 2019. [10]

Prior to 2019, the only Islamic bank which was allowed to operate is the Al-Amanah Islamic Bank which was founded in 1973. [11] Legislation introduced in 2019 allowed foreign-based and domestic firms to establish full-fledged Islamic banks in the Philippines as well as the setting up of Islamic bank units or subsidiaries under secular banks. [10]

Halal certification

To become a lawyer under the Shari'ah court system of the Philippines, one must pass the Shari'ah Bar Exam which consists of the following subject matter: Code Muslim Personal Laws; Special Rules of Procedures; Jurisprudence ( Fiqh ), and the Muslim Law on Inheritance and Succession. A Shari'ah lawyer according to Bar Matter No. 681, a Supreme Court decision made en banc on August 5, 1993, is a "special member" of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and not a fully pledged member. Members of the Shari'ah Bar are eligible to become circuit court judges but only those who are members of both the Shari'ah Bar and Regular Bar could be district court judges. [1]

Expansion

There has been proposals to establish sharia courts outside Mindanao due to the growing Muslim population outside the island group. [12] [13] In May 2023, Senator Robin Padilla during the 19th Congress filed Senate Bill No. 2215 which would establish additional courts to cover most of the country– including three district courts. Under the proposal, most of Mindanao not already covered by existing sharia courts will now be accommodated. Localities in Luzon and Visayas will also now have sharia courts. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ As stated in the Code of Muslim Personal Laws. The inclusion of Zamboanga Sibugay created from Zamboanga del Sur in 2001 under a district court is unclear.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao</span> 1989–2019 autonomous region of the Philippines

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was an autonomous region of the Philippines, located in the Mindanao island group of the Philippines, that consisted of five predominantly Muslim provinces: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. It was the only region that had its own government. The region's de facto seat of government was Cotabato City, although this self-governing city was outside its jurisdiction.

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The government of the Philippines has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional republic in which the president functions as both the head of state and the head of government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.

The Philippines is divided into four levels of administrative divisions, with the lower three being defined in the Local Government Code of 1991 as local government units (LGUs). They are, from the highest to the lowest:

  1. Regions are mostly used to organize national services. Of the 17 regions, only one—the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao—has an elected government to which the central government has devolved competencies.
  2. Provinces, independent cities, and one independent municipality (Pateros)
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Formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines and the various armed groups involved in the Moro conflict began in 1976 when the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front first met to negotiate towards the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, and most recently reached a major milestone in the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) through a plebiscite in 2018, leading to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. However, conflicts with other smaller armed groups continue to exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangsamoro</span> Autonomous region of the Philippines

Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is an autonomous region in the Philippines, located in the southwestern portion of the island of Mindanao.

Sharia means Islamic law based on Islamic concepts based from Quran and Hadith. Since the early Islamic states of the eighth and ninth centuries, Sharia always existed alongside other normative systems.

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The Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) was the final peace agreement signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on March 27, 2014 at the Malacañang Palace in Manila, which eventually led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (often referred to simply as the Bangsamoro, in January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangsamoro Organic Law</span> 2018 Philippine law establishing the Bangsamoro autonomous region

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An autonomous region of the Philippines is a first-level administrative division that has the authority to control a region's culture and economy. The Constitution of the Philippines allows for two autonomous regions: in the Cordilleras and in Muslim Mindanao. Currently, Bangsamoro, which largely consists of the Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao, is the only autonomous region in the country.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangsamoro transition period</span>

The transition period of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) into the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) began when the Bangsamoro Organic Law was ratified in a two-part plebiscite held in January and February 2019. It is set to end after the first set of regular officials are elected in 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Bangsamoro</span> Flag of an autonomous region of the Philippines

The flag of Bangsamoro is the flag which represents the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, an autonomous region of the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secularism in the Philippines</span> Overview of secularism in the Philippines

Secularism in the Philippines concerns the relationship of the Philippine government with religion. Officially the Philippines is a secular state, but religious institutions and religion play a significant role in the country's political affairs. Legal pluralism also persist with the application of Islamic personal laws for the country's Muslim population.

The Code of Muslim Personal Laws is a legislation in the Philippines covering Muslims in the country which came into effect through Presidential Decree No. 1083 in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangsamoro Juridical Entity</span> Proposed associated state in Philippines

The Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) was a proposed subdivision in the Philippines spanning portions of Mindanao and Palawan. Conceptualized during the peace talks between the government of the Philippines during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the BJE was the proposed expanded successor to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

References

  1. 1 2 Maulana, Nash. "Sharia equality pushed". Manila Standard. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Courts for Muslims: A Primer on Philippine Shari'a Courts" (PDF). Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Banagudos, Rey-Luis (25 November 2018). "Shariah courts render 'quick action' on Muslims' disputes". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Mastura, Michael O. (1994). "Legal Pluralism in the Philippines" . Law & Society Review. 28 (3): 461–475. doi:10.2307/3054065. JSTOR   3054065.
  5. ↑ San Juan, Joel. "Sharia courts: Then and now". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  6. 1 2 Cepeda, Maria (12 July 2018). "Bicam approves creation of Shari'ah High Court in Bangsamoro". Rappler. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  7. 1 2 Balane, Walter (16 October 2007). "Legislators want Shari'ah courts in DC". MindaNews.
  8. ↑ Lalu, Gabriel Pabico (2018-10-30). "Sulu LGU asks SC to junk 'unconstitutional' Bangsamoro law". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  9. 1 2 Quismundo, Tarra (6 February 2019). "Muslim-Christian couple's divorce upheld". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  10. 1 2 Cuaresma, Bianca (1 January 2020). "BSP approves rules on Islamic banking". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  11. ↑ Tetangco, Amando Jr. "Speeches: Islamic Banking and Finance in the Philippines: Opportunities and Challenges". Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas . Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Fuentes, Kaiser Jan (28 March 2023). "Influx of Muslims leads to call for creation of Shari'a Court". Sunstar. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  13. 1 2 Abrogar, Sofia (20 May 2023). "Robin Padilla wants more Shari'ah courts in PH". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
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