REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

SUPREME COURT
MANILA

CARMELA PAOLA R. DUMLAO

Petitioner,

-versusG.R. No. __________

For: Certiorari and Prohibition, with
Prayer for a Preliminary Prohibitory
Injunction and/ or Temporary Restraining
Order

THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY and

DEPARTMENT
OF
BUDGET
MANAGEMENT
Respondents.

THE
AND

X---------------------------------------------------------------------X

PETITION FOR CERTIORARI AND PROHIBITION,

WITH PRAYER FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A WRIT OF PROHIBITORY INJUNCTION
AND/ OR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER

Prefatory Statement
"The Constitution is the basic and paramount law to which all other laws must conform
and to which all persons, including the highest officials of the land, must defer.
Constitutional doctrines must remain steadfast no matter what may be the tides of time.
It cannot be simply made to sway and accommodate the call of situations and much
more tailor itself to the whims and caprices of government and the people who run it."

The Case
This is a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition, with a Prayer for a Preliminary
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Prohibitory Injunction and/or a Temporary Restraining Order, asking the Honorable

Court to declare that Republic Act No. 12345 or the Bangsamoro Basic Law , is
unconstitutional.

The Parties

Petitioner is is of legal age, Filipino, a law student from the New Era University
College of Law,

as taxpayer and citizen who has a direct interest in the faithful

adherence to constitutional processes, suing on an issue of transcendental importance.

Respondent HON. EXECUTIVE SECRETARY PAQUITO OCHOA, JR. is being
sued in his official capacity as Executive Secretary to the President, and as the
representative of the Executive Department that will implement and execute RA 12345.
He may be served with summons and notices of this Honorable Court, as well as all
other papers and processes, at the Office of the Executive Secretary, Malacaang
Palace, Manila.
Respondent HON. FLORENCIO B. ABAD, is being sued in his official capacity
as Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (hereinafter DBM), a
department charged with the release of funds for the implementation of R.A.12345. He
may be served with summons and other papers and processes of this Honorable Court
at the DBM, Gen. Solano St., San Miguel, Manila.

Statement of Facts
On December 17, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III issued Executive Order
No. 120 which created the Transition Commission composed of fifteen (15) individuals.
The Commission is tasked to draft a Bangsamoro Basic Law to replace the law currently
governing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). A majority of the
commissioners, including the chairman, are Muslims.
Pursuant to E.O. No. 120 and the Framework Agreement signed by the
government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic
Law shall be submitted to the Congress for its enactment into law and

once the

measure is created by the Congress, the Transition Commission will cease to exist.
Thereafter, a plebiscite on the basic law, which shall be limited to the qualified voters in
the territory specified in the framework agreement, shall be held. Once the basic law is
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ratified, the ARMM shall be abolished, and a Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA)
shall replace the Transition Commission.

BTA officials shall be appointed by the

President, and they will serve in the interim until 2016 when a Bangsamoro Government
shall have been elected and installed.
On 14 February 2015, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III signed REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 12345 (R.A. 12345) or otherwise known as Bangsamoro Basic Law" and
the plebescite is scheduled on June 26, 2015 .

Grounds for the petition

Bangsamoro Basic Law violates plenty of provisions from the Philippine
Constitution including, national territory; sovereignty; equal protection clause; form of
government; separation of the state and the church; among others.

I
BANGSAMORO BASIC LAW VIOLATES ARTICLE 1 OF THE 1987 PHILIPPINE
CONTITUTION

The Bangsamoro Basic Law Preamble provides:

Affirming the distinct historical identity and birthright of the Bangsamoro
people to their ancestral homeland and their right to self-determination
beginning with the struggle for freedom of their forefathers in generations
past and extending to the present to chart their political future through a
democratic process that will secure their identity and posterity, and allow
for genuine and meaningful self-governance as stipulated under the
Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB);

With the blessings of the Almighty, do hereby ordain and promulgate this
Bangsamoro Basic Law, through the Congress of the Republic of the
Philippines, as the basic law of the Bangsamoro that establishes the
asymmetrical political relationship with the Central Government founded
on the principles of subsidiarity and parity of esteem.

While Article III thereof provides:

Article III - TERRITORY
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Section 1. Definition of Territory ...includes land mass , maritime,

terrestrial, fluvial and alluvial domains, and the aerial domain above ...
The Bangsamoro territory shall remain a part of the Philippines. Section 2.
Core Territory The core territory of the Bangsamoro shall be composed
of: a. the present geographical area of the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao; b. the Municipalities of Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar,
Tagoloan and Tangkal in the province of Lanao del Norte and all other
barangays in the Municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan,
Pigkawayan, Pikit and Midsayap that voted for inclusion in the ARMM
during the 2001 plebiscite; c. the cities of Cotabato and Isabela;

The preamble performs a vital function in the Constitution. Its value is not merely
formal but real and substantive and violation of which renders a law unconstitutional.
To ordain is to make an ordinance, to enact a law. The term basic law is used in
as an alternative to "constitution". Hence, the enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law
is tantamount to the enactment of another Constitution, a gross disregard to the
Supreme Law of the Land.
Said provisions clearly refer to the envisioned Bangsamoro region as a territory
and ancestral homeland" or a part of the country separated from the rest or a
geographical area under the jurisdiction of another sovereign power. Not only that. It
also recognizes the absolute right of the people of Bangsamoro to self-determination to
chart their political future. Hence, it reinforces the notion that Bangsamoro is a separate
political entity under the jurisdiction of the Philippines, a sub-state which in effect
dismembers a huge part of the Philippine territory.

II
BBL AMENDS THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN
THE PHILIPPINES.

According to Art. II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Declaration of Principles

and State Policies; Section 1. "The Philippines is a democratic and republican State.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them."

Running contrary to the said constitutional madate, BBL, Article I, Sec. 3 states
that:
The purpose of this Basic Law is to establish a political entity, provide for
its basic structure of government in recognition of the justness and
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legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro people and their aspiration to

chart their political future through a democratic process that will secure
their identity and posterity and allow for meaningful self-governance.

The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government wherein

power is equally divided among its three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
One basic corollary in a presidential system of government is the principle of
separation of powers wherein legislation belongs to Congress, execution to the
Executive, and settlement of legal controversies to the Judiciary. Under the
Bangsamoro Basic Law, the Bangsamoro shall adopt a parliamentary system wherein
legislative authority is vested in the Parliament and executive function and authority
shall be exercised by the Cabinet, which shall be headed by a Chief Minister. (Art. VII,
Secs. 2 and 3). This clearly contradicts the constitutional mandate that the Philippines is
a democratic and republican state.

III
BBL VIOLATES THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE

Article III, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that "No person
shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Nor shall any
person be denied the equal protection of the laws"
One of the basic principles on which this government was founded is that of the
equality of right which is embodied in Section 1, Article III of the 1987 Constitution. The
equal protection of the laws is embraced in the concept of due process, as every unfair
discrimination offends the requirements of justice and fair play. It has been embodied in
a separate clause, however, to provide for a more specific guaranty against any form of
undue favoritism or hostility from the government. Arbitrariness in general may be
challenged on the basis of the due process clause. But if the particular act assailed
partakes of an unwarranted partiality or prejudice, the sharper weapon to cut it down is
the equal protection clause.
According to a long line of decisions, equal protection simply requires that all
persons or things similarly situated should be treated alike, both as to rights conferred
and responsibilities imposed.It requires public bodies and institutions to treat similarly
situated individuals in a similar manner.The purpose of the equal protection clause is to
secure every person within a states jurisdiction against intentional and arbitrary
discrimination, whether occasioned by the express terms of a statue or by its improper
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execution through the states duly constituted authorities. In other words, the concept of
equal justice under the law requires the state to govern impartially, and it may not draw
distinctions between individuals solely on differences that are irrelevant to a legitimate
governmental objective.
The BBL allows the Bangsamoro Government to keep 75% of the taxes in the
autonomous region, to get the vast share of revenues from natural resources in the
region, and to get 50% of the revenues from fossil fuel exploitation therein. Apparently, it
will eventually reduce the respective shares of the Philippine provinces, municipalities
and cities which are not included within the Bangsamoro region. Meaning to say, the
Bangsamoro Basic Law gives special treatment to the Bangsamoro Government, to the
prejudice of and damage to other local government units in the Philippines especially
those in Luzon and Visayas. It is also unfair to deprive the other citizens of other
regions, so much so, majority of Filipino people, the right to vote during the plebiscite
concerning the BBL. Every qualified voter all over the country must be allowed to vote
in that plebiscite.
legislation.

Denying such right to vote in that plebiscite is to allow class

The equal protection clause of the 1987 Constitution prohibits class

legislation.

IV
BBL VIOLATES THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
The 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that there is a Separation of the State
and the Church, (Art. I, Sec. 6, State Principles) and that is inviolable while Art. III,
Sec. 5 states that No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious
profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed.
No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.

In violation of the above-mentioned provisions, Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is

creating a religious, Islamic State" within a State. It is apparent from its Preamble which
states that:
We, the Bangsamoro people and other inhabitants of
Bangsamoro, imploring the aid of Almighty God, aspiring to establish an
enduring peace on the basis of jusrice in our communities and a justly
balanced society, and asserting our right to conserve and develop our
patrimony; In consonance with the Constitution and the universally
accepted principles of human rights, liberty, justice, democracy and the
norms and standards of international law, reflective of our systems of life
prescribed by our faith, and in harmony with our customary laws, cultures
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and traditions

Foremostly, in drafting the Bangsamoro bill, the word, wali was used. Article
VIII, Section 1, defines WALI as Titular Head of the Bangsamoro. It states that "There
shall be a Wali who shall be the titular head of the Bangsamoro." "Wali" was quoted by
Prophet Mohammed under Sura in Koran. In Islam, the phrase, wal allh can be used
to denote one vested with the "authority of God". Thus it connotes that the Head of the
Bangsamoro is someone who has the authority from Allah--the God of Islam.
Moreover, it is also clear from the phrase "reflective of our systems of life
prescribed by our faith in the Preamble that BBL is legislating the creation of Islamic
State in the Republic of the Philippines because the faith of Bangsamoro people is
Islam.

APPLICATION FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A

WRIT OF PRELIMINARY PROHIBITORY INJUNCTION
AND/OR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER (TRO)

It is clear from the foregoing that there is a violation of the Petitioners rights as
taxpayer, who suffer and will continue to suffer severe injury and damage from the
expenditure of public funds to enforce or implement the unconstitutional provisions of
R.A. 12345.

The acts of Respondents, if not immediately restrained or enjoined, will cause

grave and irreparable injury to Petitioner, as Filipino citizen and taxpayer as the
implementation or impending implementation of the unconstitutional provisions of R.A.
12345 by Respondents shall violate the fundamental law of the Republic of the
Philippines.
For the same reasons, the commission and continuance of the implementation of
R.A. 12345 during the pendency of this petition will work injustice to Petitioners, and the
nation.
Hence, if the implementation of R.A. 12345 is not immediately enjoined,
Petitioner and millions of Filipinos will suffer great or irreparable injury before the matter
can be heard by the Honorable Court. Thus, Petitioner respectfully pray that the
Honorable Court immediately enjoin Public Respondents from implementing R.A.
12345, pending the resolution of this petition, through the issuance of a preliminary
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prohibitory injunction and/or a temporary restraining order. Petitioner also prays for the
exemption from the posting of a bond in view of the transcendent nature of the instant
petition.

PRAYER
WHEREFORE, premises considered, Petitioner respectfully pray that:
1. Pending the resolution of this Petition, a Temporary Restraining Order and/or

Writ of Preliminary Prohibitory Injunction be IMMEDIATELY ISSUED, prohibiting Public

Respondents from implementing R.A. 12345, and the Respondent Secretary of the
Department of Budget and Management from releasing public funds for its
implementation;
2.

Upon due hearing, the instant Petition be GRANTED, (a) declaring R.A.

12345, otherwise known as the Bangsamoro Basic Law," to be unconstitutional for

infringing against Constitutionally-protected fundamental rights of citizens

and (b)

permanently prohibiting Respondents the Executive Secretary, the Department of

Budget and Management.
Other relief that are just and equitable under the premises are likewise prayed
for.
Quezon City, Philippines, 24 February 2015.

CARMELA PAOLA R. DUMLAO

Petitioner

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