1976 Tripoli Agreement

Treaty between the Philippines and Moro National Liberation Front the 1976 Tripoli Agreement the 2006 Tripoli Agreement Tripoli Agreement 1976 Tripoli Agreement Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and Moro National Liberation Front with the Participation of the Quadripartite Ministerial Commission Members of the Islamic Conference and the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference The Moro conflict 1976 12 23 Tripoli, Libya Philippines 1936 Carmelo Z. Barbero MNLF flag.svg Nur Misuari Libya 1977 Ali Abdussalam Treki Senegal Amadou Karim Gaye Philippines 1936 PhilippinesMNLF flag.svg Moro National Liberation Front Arabic, English, French January 2026 The 1976 Tripoli Agreement was signed on 23 December 1976, in Tripoli, Libya by Carmelo Z. Barbero, representing the Government of the Philippines and Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front. The Tripoli Agreement http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/Modules/Modules/MuslimMindanao/tripoli_agreement.htm 17 May 2016 19 July 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190719081204/http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/modules/modules/muslimmindanao/tripoli_agreement.htm dead The agreement defined autonomous administrative divisions for Muslims in the southern Philippines, the establishment of an autonomous government, judicial system for Sharia law and special security forces, and the observance of a ceasefire. Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center Mindanao Conflict: In Search of Peace and Human Rights http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2008/12/mindanao-conflict-in-search-of-peace-and-human-rights.html 17 May 2016 29 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160829224915/http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2008/12/mindanao-conflict-in-search-of-peace-and-human-rights.html live The autonomous region was to have its own economic system, including an Islamic bank. Unruh Jon Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding Routledge 2013 https://books.google.com/books?id=X9ncAgAAQBAJ&q=1976+Tripoli+Agreement&pg=PA147 978-1136536625 Facilitators of the agreement included members of the Quadripartite Ministerial Commission of the Organization of Islamic Conference, headed by Libyan diplomat Ali Treki, and the OIC Secretary General, Amadou Karim Gaye. Rasul Amina A Just and Lasting Peace on the Horizon http://themuslim500.com/2013-2/issues-of-the-day/a-just-and-lasting-peace-on-the-horizon 17 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160531090248/http://themuslim500.com/2013-2/issues-of-the-day/a-just-and-lasting-peace-on-the-horizon 31 May 2016 dead The other members of the Quadripartite Ministerial Commission included representatives from Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Somalia. In 2026, the agreement was inscribed as part of the Bangsamoro Peace Agreements in the UNESCO National Memory of the World Register of the Philippines, along with three other related agreements.ICDH > Notice > ICDH NEWS https://www.unescoicdh.org/eng/sub.php?menukey=240&mod=view&no=161880 2026-09-16 www.unescoicdh.org Events prior to agreement Moro National Liberation Front The declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos in September 1972 contributed to the ongoing Moro conflict, with Abul Khayr Alonto and Jallaludin Santos establishing the Moro National Liberation Front with Nur Misuari as chairman a month later that same year.Pike John Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) https://fas.org/irp/world/para/mnlf.htm 18 May 2016 19 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160519084121/http://fas.org/irp/world/para/mnlf.htm dead With the MNLF receiving support from Malaysia and Libya,Bautista Andrea M. 2 Moro leaders admit Gaddafi funded MNLF, MILF rebels TV5 Network Inc. 25 October 2011 http://interaksyon.com/article/15860/2-moro-leaders-admit-gaddafi-funded-mnlf-milf-rebels 18 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160601064913/http://interaksyon.com/article/15860/2-moro-leaders-admit-gaddafi-funded-mnlf-milf-rebels 1 June 2016 dead Marcos offered Muammar Gaddafi a lucrative oil deal in exchange for his withdrawal of support for the MNLF through Malaysia.Romero Jr. Jose V. The Tripoli Agreement The Manila Times 31 October 2014 http://www.manilatimes.net/tripoli-agreement/138331/ 18 May 2016 7 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160607070250/http://www.manilatimes.net/tripoli-agreement/138331/ live According to his private diary, Marcos sent his wife, Imelda Marcos, to Libya in November 1976 "to charm Col. Kadaffi into finally terminating aid and support for Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front". Ambeth Ocampo Ambeth Ocampo A Tripoli Agreement inside story Philippine Daily Inquirer 1 October 2013 http://opinion.inquirer.net/62433/a-tripoli-agreement-inside-story 19 May 2016 In December 1976 representatives of the Philippine government and the MNLF met at the negotiating table. During the negotiations, Marcos noted in his diary that Misuari and the Libyan diplomat Ali Treki kept insisting that "all of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan be organized into one region. But they are willing to submit this to a referendum." Marcos was inclined to agree since he was of the opinion that "Palawan, the three Davaos, the two Surigaos, the two Agusans, Southern Cotabato, Bukidnon, the two Misamis, possibly Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Norte and others" would not want to be included in the Muslim autonomous region. A day before the agreement was signed, negotiations stalled and Gaddafi asked for Imelda Marcos to return to Libya to hasten the talks. Imelda was able to convince the Libyan leader via telephone to accept the Philippine President's proposal, which was to "submit the question of autonomy to the constitutional process of the Philippines" Ambeth Ocampo Ambeth Ocampo Marcos, Misuari, & Gadhafi Philippine Daily Inquirer 3 October 2013 http://opinion.inquirer.net/62619/marcos-misuari-gadhafi 19 May 2016 9 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160609172315/http://opinion.inquirer.net/62619/marcos-misuari-gadhafi live for the thirteen provinces. The agreement was signed the following day. Autonomous areas thumb|The former territory of ARMM is shown in red. Shown in yellow are other areas intended to be part of it in accordance with the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, but opposed inclusion via plebiscite The following thirteen provinces in the southern Philippines were agreed upon by the parties involved to be included for autonomy: Basilan, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Lanao del Norte, Tawi-tawi, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del Sur, Davao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Palawan and Maguindanao. Marcos would later implement the agreement by creating two autonomous regions (instead of one) consisting of ten (instead of thirteen) provinces. This led to the collapse of the peace pact and the resumption of hostilities between the MNLF and Philippine government forces. Kin Wah Chin Southeast Asian Affairs 2004 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 2004 https://books.google.com/books?id=8mKsed7mQzQC&q=1976+Tripoli+Agreement&pg=PA219 9812302387 Howe Brendan M. Post-Conflict Development in East Asia Ashgate Publishing 2014 https://books.google.com/books?id=X9ncAgAAQBAJ&q=1976+Tripoli+Agreement&pg=PA147 978-1409469438 Succeeding treaties Jeddah Accord 1996 Final Peace Agreement A year after Marcos was ousted from power during the People Power Revolution, the government under Corazon Aquino signed the 1987 Jeddah Accord in Saudi Arabia with the MNLF, agreeing to hold further discussions on the proposal for autonomy to the entirety of Mindanao and not just the thirteen provinces stated in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement. In 1989, however, an act establishing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was passed. The MNLF demanded that the thirteen Tripoli Agreement provinces be included in the ARMM, but the government refused; eight of those provinces were predominantly Christian. Shortly thereafter, the government held a plebiscite in the thirteen provinces. Four provinces; Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-tawi voted to be included in the ARMM. The MNLF boycotted the plebiscite and refused to recognize the ARMM. Under the administration of Fidel V. Ramos, the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed the 1996 Final Peace Agreement in Jakarta, Indonesia. The accord enabled qualified MNLF members to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, and created the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD), which was primarily led by the MNLF. Nur Misuari subsequently ran unopposed as governor of the ARMM.Casauay Angela The MNLF, MILF and 2 peace agreements Rappler 25 May 2015 https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/38547-milf-mnlf-peace-agreements/ 18 May 2016 13 December 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181213152511/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/38547-milf-mnlf-peace-agreements live During this period, Sayyid Hji Al-Hassan Caluang, then OIC Governor of Sulu, played a key facilitative role in coordinating local consultations and supporting the implementation of peace and development mechanisms envisioned under the agreement. His administration fostered dialogue among traditional leaders, scholars, and MNLF representatives, ensuring that the peace framework reached the grassroots level across Sulu and neighboring provinces.Caluang Al-Hassan Personal communication on peace facilitation during the 1996 Peace Agreement period 2024 Provincial Archives of Sulu 21 October 2025 The peace agreement earned both Ramos and Misuari the 1997 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize.1997 Prizewinners: Mr Fidel V. Ramos, President of the Republic of the Philippines, and Mr Nur Misuari, Chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Philippines http://www.unesco.org/new/en/houphouet-boigny-peace-prize/award/prizewinners/1997-prizewinners/ 18 May 2016 9 October 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161009213958/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/houphouet-boigny-peace-prize/award/prizewinners/1997-prizewinners/ dead The same peace framework later gave formal recognition to the Darul Iftah (Islamic Advisory Council) as part of the SPCPD structure, institutionalizing Islamic moral guidance within peace governance. The office of the Grand Mufti of Darul Ifta Region 9 and Palawan traces its roots to the 1989 conference of ʿUlamāʾ (Islamic scholars) in Zamboanga City, which unanimously elected Grand Mufti AbdulGani L. Yusop Al-Azhari as the first Grand Mufti of Southern Philippines. His election marked the beginning of a regional Islamic juristic authority later acknowledged by the government through the 1996 Final Peace Agreement, which established the Grand Mufti of Darul Ifta Region 9 and Palawan as an official “advisory council” to the SPCPD.Grand Mufti of Darul Ifta Region 9 and Palawan That same year, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which had broken away from the MNLF in 1977, began informal talks with the Ramos-led government. These, however, were not pursued and the MILF began recruiting and establishing camps, becoming the dominant Muslim rebel group. The administration of Joseph Estrada advocated a hardline stance against the MILF; that of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo tried to sign a peace agreement with it, but it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Shortly after Benigno Aquino III assumed the Presidency in 2010, he met with MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo, Japan. In 2012, the Philippine government and the MILF signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which calls for the creation of the Bangsamoro, an autonomous political entity which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which Aquino describes as a "failed experiment".Calonzo Andreo Govt, MILF agree to create 'Bangsamoro' to replace ARMM GMA Network 7 October 2012 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/277218/news/nation/govt-milf-agree-to-create-bangsamoro-to-replace-armm 18 May 2016 20 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160420082854/http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/277218/news/nation/govt-milf-agree-to-create-bangsamoro-to-replace-armm live See also 1987 Jeddah Accord 1996 Final Peace Agreement Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro External links Text of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement on the Philippines' Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process website References 2 Category:1976 in the Philippines Category:1976 in Libya Category:Bangsamoro peace process Category:Boundary treaties Category:Treaties concluded in 1976 Category:Treaties of the Philippines Category:Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Category:History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi Category:Libya–Philippines relations Category:20th century in Tripoli, Libya Category:Moro National Liberation Front