Professor H. Harry L. Roque Jr., director of Institute for International Legal Studies, College of Law, University of the Philippines (@ 4rth MPPM)

He criticized the attempt to change the constitution without the consent of the people.
This is a violation of our right to self-determination. He suggested that it’s not only the Comelec that should be change but also the officials of the country. Below are the substantial details of his lectures.

I. What is the RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION?

A) UN General Assembly RESOLUTION 2625(XXV) DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCERNING FRIENDLY RELATIONS (adopted without vote in 24 October 1970)
“By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right freely to determine, without, external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every state has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.” (emphasis added)

B) UN General Assembly RESOLUTION 1514(XV) Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (14 December 1960)“2. All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.“

II. What are the various aspects of the RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION?
A) Right of people to freely determine, without, external interference, their political status
B) Right of people to pursue their economic, social and cultural development

III. How does the ICJ view the RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION?
East Timor (Portugal v. Indonesia) [ICJ Reports (1995), Paragraph 29] “In the Court’s view, Portugal’s assertion that the right of peoples to self-determination, as it evolved from the Charter and from United Nations practice, has an erga omnes character, is irreproachable.
The principle of self-determination of peoples has been recognized by the United Nations Charter and in the jurisprudence of the Court (internal citations omitted); it is one of the essential principles of contemporary international law.”

IV. In what international legal instruments is the RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION mentioned?
A) UN General Assembly RESOLUTION 1803(XVII) "Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources“ (14 December 1962)
“Bearing in mind its resolution 1314 (XIII) of 12 December 1958, by which it established the Commission on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources and instructed it to conduct a full survey of the status of permanent sovereignty over natural wealth and resources as a basic constituent of the right to self-determination…”
B) RESOLUTION 1803 (XVII) "Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources“ (14 December 1962) (CONTINUED)
“1. The right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources must be exercised in the interest of their national development and of the well-being of the people of the State concerned.
2. The exploration, development and disposition of such resources, as well as the import of the foreign capital required for these purposes, should be in conformity with the rules and conditions which the peoples and nations freely consider to be necessary or desirable with regard to the authorization, restriction or prohibition of such activities.”

IV. In what international legal instruments is the RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION mentioned?
C) Draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 3) gIndigenous peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development of the State.

MINDANAO CONTEXT 1 Taken from the New LUWARAN.COM Website (December 11, 2006) ”North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piňol has launched a new program to give lands to the “landless” in his province to the exclusion of Moros, a report reaching Luwaran today. One Moro resident of Mlang, who requested anonymity for fear of his life, disclosed that settlers are encroaching on lands in the fringes of the Liguasan Marsh, which since time immemorial have been occupied by the Moros.” xxx xxx xxx xxx “He cited the example of lands claimed by Moros between Makilala and Tulunan, both in North Cotabato , wherein more than 100 hectares are now planted with African oil by Piňol.”

V. RIGHT to PERMANENT SOVEREIGNTY OVER NATURAL RESOURCES is not absolute

A) UNGA RESOLUTION on "Permanent sovereignty over natural resources" “The right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources must be exercised in the interest of their national development and of the well-being of the people of the State concerned.”

B) Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Community of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, judgement of 31 August 2000) [paragraph 149] “Indigenous groups, by the fact of their very existence, have the right to live freely in their own territory; the close ties of indigenous people with the land must be recognized and understood as the fundamental basis of their cultures, their spiritual life, their integrity, and their economic survival.”

C) Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Community of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua (paragraph 149) “For indigenous communities, relations to the land are not merely a matter of possession and production but a material and spiritual element which they must fully enjoy, even to preserve their cultural legacy and transmit it to future generations.” V. RIGHT to PERMANENT SOVEREIGNTY OVER NATURAL RESOURCES is not absolute

D) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 6, paragraph1) “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” MINDANAO CONTEXT 2 (December 12, 2006) Taken from the New LUWARAN.COM Website “The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has asked Lt. Col. Roseller Murillo, commanding officer of the 64th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army to admit that some of his men were guilty of “defiling” a mosque in Kuloy, Sharif Aguak, Maguindanao, as this photograph shows soldiers entering the mosque with all probability their “boots on”. This was the rejoinder of the MILF to Colonel Murillo, who in several radio and television interviews denied that his troops committed acts inimical to freedom of religion particularly desecration of places of worship or graveyards.”
MINDANAO CONTEXT 3: Halal board expected to start working in August By Walter I. Balane /MindaNews (Posted July 27, 2006) “A private sector-led Halal certification Board (HCB) is expected to be activated by August this year, to fast track development of the halal industry in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Local Government Support Program in the ARMM (LGSPA) said. xxx xxx xxx xxx

The HCB is tasked to verify that what is declared halal is in accordance with Islamic rules of consuming only permissible food and non-food products as prescribed by the Holy Qur'an. xxx xxx xxx xxx The ARMM is eyed by the Philippine government in its medium term development plan as center for the Halal industry. The region's development is expected to benefit from the international Halal food industry with estimated value of $80 billion per year.

VI. RIGHT TO PRACTICE ONE’S OWN CULTURE, RELIGION AND LANGUAGE A) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 27)
“In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.”

B) Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 23: The rights of minorities (ICCPR Art. 27)
“The Committee observes that this article (ICCPR Art. 27) establishes and recognizes a right which is conferred on individuals belonging to minority groups and which is distinct from, and additional to, all the other rights which, as individuals in common with everyone else, they are already entitled to enjoy under the Covenant.” C) Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Community of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua (IACHR Case) (paragraph 149)
“For indigenous communities, relations to the land are not merely a matter of possession and production but a material and spiritual element which they must fully enjoy, even to preserve their cultural legacy and transmit it to future generations.”

MINDANAO CONTEXT 4: Mindanao Lumads Defend Ancestral Land vs Large-scale Mining BY TYRONE VELEZ Bulatlat (January 22 - 28, 2006) “Leaders of Lumad organizations from six regional federations representing some 10 major indigenous tribes in Mindanao vowed to defend the last of their ancestral lands against the assault of large-scale mining during the conclusion of the Mindanao Indigenous People’s Conference on Mining last January 18 at the Diocesan Pastoral Center. “ xxx xxx xxx xxx Canadian Toronto Ventures, Inc. (TVI), a mining company, operates in lands belonging to the Subanen at Mt. Canatuan, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte. Sagittarius Mines, Inc. and its partner Indophil conduct exploration activities on B’laan lands in Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur and South Cotabato.
“Subanen Timuay Jose Anoy said that they were driven out of their lands by TVI even if they have a certificate of ancestral domain from the government. The military, Anoy said, refuses to let him into his home at Mt. Canatuan, Siocon for three years now.” xxx xxx xxx xxx The conference called on the government to repeal the Mining Act of 1995 and other laws that lead to environmental destruction; review the IPRA; stop large-scale mining operations and explorations; and end militarization in Lumad communities

VII. FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT

A) Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 30) “Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands, territories and other resources, including the right to require that States obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands, territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources. “

B) The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997 (RA8371, Section 7b) “ the right to an informed and intelligent participation in the formulation and implementation of any project, government or private, that will affect or impact upon the ancestral domains and to receive just and fair compensation for any damages which they may sustain as a result of the project; and the right to effective measures by the government to prevent any interference with, alienation and encroachment upon these rights;” VII. FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT • Velásquez Rodríguez case (Judgement of 19 July 1988, Inter-American Court of Human Rights) “when a State allows private persons or groups to act freely and with impunity to the detriment of the rights recognised, it would be in clear violation of its obligations to protect the human rights of its citizens.”

VIII. What are the modes of implementing the RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION? UN General Assembly RESOLUTION 2625(XXV) DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCERNING FRIENDLY RELATIONS (adopted without vote in 1970) “The [1] establishment of a sovereign and independent state, [2] the free association or integration with an independent state or [3] the emergence into any other political status freely determined by a people constitute modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people. ” (numbering supplied)

IX. What are the limitations to the RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION?

A) ARTICLE 2 (paragraph 7) UN CHARTER “The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles. xxx xxx xxx xxx Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.”

B) UN GA RESOLUTION 2625(XXV) DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCERNING FRIENDLY RELATIONS (adopted without vote 1970) “Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent states conducting themselves in compliance with the principle or equal rights and self-determination of peoples described above and thus possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.”