The Independent Commission on Policing and its Terms of Reference

Country/entity
Philippines
Mindanao
Region
Asia and Pacific
Agreement name
The Independent Commission on Policing and its Terms of Reference
Date
27/02/2013
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
No
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/intrastate conflict (Philippine Insurgencies (1968 - )
The Maoist Insurgencies (1968 - )

Philippines-NDF

The Philippines have been defined by a series of center-periphery and often ideologically Maoist, separatist insurgencies. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), began its war against the central Philippine government in 1968 through their armed wing – the New People’s Army (NPA). Further legitimacy was gained through the establishment of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in 1973. Grievances were predominantly opposed to the corruption and repression under the authoritarian Marcos regime.

Philippines-Cordillera

With the overthrow of Marcos’ regime in 1986, the CPP factionalized further to take on more localized characteristics. The Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) broke away from the NDF in 1986 to focus on the protection of the Cordilleran people and land in northern Luzon. Hostilities were formally ended in July 2011, with an agreement signed between the central government, the CPLA and the Cordillera Bodong Administration (CBA) that allowed for the absorption of CPLA fighters into the Philippine Army and the re-working of the CBA-CPLA into a socio-development organisation.

Philippines-RPM-P

Meanwhile, purge among the CPP in the early 1990s, encouraged the formation of a parallel party, the Revolutionary Workers Party (RPM-P). Their armed wing, the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) which had carried out a number of assassinations during the 1980s at the bequest of the CPP, followed suit and allied themselves with the RPM-P in 1997 forming the (RPM-P-RPA-ABB). Severely weakened by the split with the CPP and with the arrest of several key figures, the RPM-P-RPA-ABB signed a peace agreement in December 2000, which encouraged the RPM-P’s branch in Mindanao to break away in 2001.

The CPP-NPA has only participated in intermittent talks with the government. Talks halted in 2004 when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration sought closer ties with the U.S. in the war on terror and added the CPP-NPA to the list of terrorist organisations, renewing violence. Following the launch of a counter-insurgency by the Philippine government, negotiations have been further delayed due to suspected internal differences between the CPP ‘old guard’ and younger members.

The Moro Insurgency (1968 - )

Philippines-Mindanao

The Moro Insurgency began in 1968, in Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago after the killing of Moro Commandos, the so-called Jabidah Massacre, by the Philippine Army following a plot to invade Sabah province in Malaysia. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) captured a swath of territory in the mid-1970s. In an attempt to stem the violence, the constitution was reformed and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created 1990 granting a devolution of power to the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Following the establishment of the ARMM, the MNLF splintered into a range of smaller groups including Islamic factions such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayef Goup (ASG). The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed in 2014.
Philippine Insurgencies (1968 - ) )
Stage
Implementation/renegotiation (Implementation modalities)
Conflict nature
Government/territory
Peace process
90: Philippines - Mindanao process
Parties
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Panel Chair for the Government of the Philippines
Mohagher Iqbal, Panel Chair for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Third parties
Tengku Dato' Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, Facilitator and Representative of Malaysia
Description
The Agreement establishes Terms of Reference for the Independent Commission on Policing, established in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, with guiding principles, and details of the composition, organization, functions, duration, and funding of the Commission.

Agreement document
PH_130227_TOR for the ICP.pdf []

Main category
Page 1, 2. Principles
The ICP will be guided by the provisions of normalization in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Its guiding principles are:
b) Inclusiveness, to reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity in the Bangsamoro, as well as the ability to address the different issues facing women, men, children and minority groups.

Page 2, 5. Functions
The main function of the ICP is to conduct studies and produce a set of recommendations on the appropriate policing for the Bangsamoro. For this purpose, it shall:
a) consult widely, including with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), Department of Defense (DND), and other relevant government agencies as well as with Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), communities in the Bangsamoro, including women, NGOs, and other people and organisations.

Women, girls and gender

Participation
Other
Page 2, 5. Functions
The main function of the ICP is to conduct studies and produce a set of recommendations on the appropriate policing for the Bangsamoro. For this purpose, it shall:
a) consult widely, including with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), Department of Defense (DND), and other relevant government agencies as well as with Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), communities in the Bangsamoro, including women, NGOs, and other people and organisations.
Equality
No specific mention.
Particular groups of women
No specific mention.
International law
No specific mention.
New institutions
No specific mention.
Violence against women
No specific mention.
Transitional justice
No specific mention.
Institutional reform
Police
Page 1, 2. Principles
The ICP [Independent Commission on Policing] will be guided by the provisions of normalization in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Its guiding principles are:
b) Inclusiveness, to reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity in the Bangsamoro, as well as the ability to address the different issues facing women, men, children and minority groups.
Development
No specific mention.
Implementation
No specific mention.
Other
No specific mention.

The University of Edinburgh