The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created in 1989 through an organic act and ratified by plebiscite. It was originally composed of four provinces in southwestern Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago but later expanded. ARMM has a predominantly agricultural economy and is the poorest region in the Philippines. It is made up of five provinces and two cities spread across mainland and island areas with a largely Muslim population.

1. AUTONOMOUS
REGION IN
MUSLIM
MINDANAO

2. A
R
M
M

4. Created by virtue of Republic
Act 6734 otherwise known as
the Organic Act of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM), which was
signed into law by then
President Corazon C. Aquino
on August 1, 1989 and ratified
through a plebiscite in
November 19, 1989.

5. It was originally composed of
the four (4) provinces of Lanao
del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu,
and Tawi-Tawi.

6. The region was strengthened and
expanded through the passage of
Republic Act 9054 in 2001 as an
offshoot of the signing of the 1996
Final Peace Agreement (FPA)
between the Government of the
Republic of the Philippines (GRP)
and the Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF).The plebiscite was
conducted on September 2001 and
resulted to the inclusion of the
province of Basilan and Marawi
City in the area of autonomous
region.

7. ARMM is home of 4.1
million population as of
2007 and has a total land
area of 27,581.79 square
kilometers, mostly
devoted to agriculture.

8. The economy of the region is
dominantly agriculture and
fishery and most of the
people are fisherfolks and
farmers. Some of them are
engaged in small and medium
entrepreneurship and few
industries, mostly in the
processing of agricultural
outputs like starch
manufacturing.

9. The region has per
capita gross regional
domestic product of only
P3,433.00 in 2005, which
is 75.8 percent lower
than the national average
of P14,186.00. It is the
lowest compared to the
other regions in the
country.

10. It is the country's poorest
region, where average
annual income was just
P89,000 pesos in 2006,
less than 1/3 of Metro
Manila level.

11. GEOGRAPHY
 The ARMM spans two geographical areas:
Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao (except
Cotabato City) in south western Mindanao,
and the island provinces of Basilan (except
Isabela City), Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in
the Sulu Archipelago. The region covers a
total of 12,288 km²

12. The ARMM is
politically subdivided
into five (5) provinces,
two (2) component
cities, one hundred
eighteen (118)
municipalities and
two thousand four
hundred fifty nine
(2,459) barangays.

13. HISTORY For the most part of Philippines' history, the region
and most of Mindanao has been a separate territory,
which enabled it to develop its own culture and
identity.The region has been the traditional homeland
of Muslim Filipinos since the 15th century, even before
the arrival of the Spanish who began to colonize most
of the Philippines in 1565. Muslim missionaries arrived
in Tawi-Tawi in 1380 and started the conversion of the
native population to Islam. In 1457, the Sultanate of
Sulu was founded, and not long after that the sultanates
of Maguindanao and Buayan were also established.At
the time when most of the Philippines was
under Spanish rule.

14.  These sultanates maintained their independence and
regularly challenged Spanish domination of
the Philippines by conducting raids on Spanish coastal
towns in the north and repulsing repeated Spanish
incursions in their territory. It was not until the last
quarter of the 19th century that the Sultanate of Sulu
formally recognized Spanish sovereignty, but these areas
remained loosely controlled by the Spanish as their
sovereignty was limited to military stations and
garrisons and pockets of civilian settlements in
Zamboanga and Cotabato, until they had to abandon
the region as a consequence of their defeat in
the Spanish-American War.

15. SEAL PROVINCE CAPITAL POPULATION
(2010)
Area
(km²)
Pop.
density
(per km²)
Basilan IsabelaCity 293,222 1,994.1 147.0
Lanao del Sur Marawi 933,260 12,051.9 77.4
Maguindanao Shariff
Aguak 944,718 7,142.0 132.2
Sulu Jolo 719,290 2,135.3 336.4
Tawi-Tawi Bongao 366,550 3,426.6 107.0

16. BASILAN

18.  Basilan is home to three main ethnic groups, the
indigenous Yakans and the later-arriving Tausugs
and Chavacanos.The Yakans and Tausugs are
predominantly Muslim, while the Chavacanos are
mainly Christian.There are also a number of
smaller groups.Although the official languages are
Filipinoand English, the major language isYakan, but
other languages are well represented, including
Tausug, Samal, and Zamboangueño Chavacano

19. GEOGRAPHY
 Basilan is located between latitudes 6°15' and 7°00',
and longitudes 121°15' and 122°30'.The island is
bordered by the Basilan Strait to the north, the
Sulu Sea to the northwest and west, the Moro Gulf
to the northeast, and the Celebes Sea to the
south, southeast and east. It is one of the 7,107
islands that make up the Philippine archipelago.

20. PROVINCE OF LANAO DEL
SUR

22.  Lanao del Sur is a province of the Philippines
located in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The capital is the Islamic City of Marawi and it
borders Lanao del Norte to the north, Bukidnon
to the east, and Maguindanao and Cotabato to the
south.To the southwest lies Illana Bay, an arm of
the Moro Gulf. Found in the interior of Lanao del
Sur is Lanao Lake, the largest lake in Mindanao.

23. SULTANATE OF LANAO
 Lanao comes from the word ranao, meaning "lake."
Lanao centers on the basin of Lake Lanao; thus, it is
the land of the Maranaos, the "people of the lake."
 Lanao is the seat of the Sultanate of Lanao.
 When the Spaniards first explored Lanao in 1689,
they found a well-settled community named
Dansalan at the lake's northern end. Dansalan
became a municipality in 1907 and a city in 1940

24. JOINING THE ARMM
 In a 1989 plebiscite, Lanao del Sur voted to join
the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM), but Marawi City elected to remain
outside ARMM. It later joined ARMM in 2001
following the plebiscite that sought to expand the
autonomous region.

25. TAWI-TAWI

27.  is an island province of the Philippines located in
the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM).The capitals ofTawi-Tawi are Bongao and
PanglimaSugala.The province is the southernmost
of the country sharing sea borders with the
Malaysian State of Sabah and the Indonesian
North Kalimantan province.To the northeast lies
the province of Sulu and to the west is Sabah in
Malaysia.Tawi-Tawi also covers some islands in the
Sulu Sea to the northwest, the
Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi Island and theTurtle Islands,
just 20 kilometers away from Sabah.

28.  Tawi-Tawi was previously part of the province of
Sulu. On September 11, 1973, pursuant to
Presidential Decree No. 302, the new province of
Tawi-Tawi was officially created, separate from Sulu.
The seat of the provincial government was
established in Bongao.
 The name of Tawi-Tawi is a projection of the
Malay word "jauh" meaning "far." Prehistoric
travelers from the Asian mainland would repeat the
word as "jaui-jaui" to mean "far away" because of
the distance of the islands from the continent of
Asia. The word "Tawi-Tawi" was picked up to later
become the official name of the province.

29. ECONOMY
 Agriculture, fishing, and agar-agar farming are
the leading source of livelihood of the
people of Tawi-Tawi, with quite a number
engaged in the barter trade business. Copra
is the top agricultural product, followed by
root crops, fruits, and vegetables

30. MAGUINDANAO

32.  Maguindanao is a province of the
Philippines located in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM). Its capital is ShariffAguak. It
borders Lanao del Sur to the north,
Cotabato to the east, and Sultan Kudarat to
the south

33. GOVERNMENT
 Maguindanao is divided into
two congressional districts, which elect members
to the House of Representatives. For the brief
period that the province of Shariff Kabunsuan
existed, Maguindanao became a lone-district
province. Since the appointment of a new set of
provincial officials for the reunified province of
Maguindanao by the ARMM Governor in January
2009.

34.  The provincial government has reverted to the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan setup (coterminous with
the restored 1st and 2nd Congressional districts of
Maguindanao) from before Shariff Kabunsuan was
created.
 Having elected to join the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM),
Maguindanao also sends six representatives (three
per district) to the
ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly that convenes
in Cotabato City.

35. 2009 ELECTION VIOLENCE
 On November 23, 2009, a 2010 gubernatorial
election caravan supporting Esmael Mangudadatu,
vice mayor of Buluan, was attacked.Fifty-seven
people were killed, including Mangudadatu's wife
and sisters, supporters, local journalists, and
bystanders.On December 4, 2009 a number of
homes belonging to the Ampatuan political family
were raided in connection with the massacre.

36. SULU

38.  is an autonomous island province of the
Philippines located in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM). Its capital is Jolo and occupies the
middle group of islands of the
Sulu Archipelago, between Basilan and
Tawi-Tawi.

39. HISTORY
 The peaceful advent of Islam around 1138
through merchants and traders had a distinct
influence on Southeast Asia.The coming of
Arabs, Persians and other Muslims paved the
way for the arrival of religious missionaries,
traders, scholars and travelers to Sulu and
Mindanao in the 12th century.

40. ECONOMY
 The province of Sulu is predominantly
agricultural with farming and fishing as its
main livelihood activities. Its fertile soil and
ideal climate can grow a variety of crops
such as abaca, coconuts, oranges, and
lanzones as well as exotic fruits seldom
found elsewhere in the country such as
durian and mangosteen.

41.  Fishing is the most important industry since
the Sulu Sea is one of the richest fishing
grounds in the country.The province also
have an extensive pearl industry. Pearls are
extensively gathered and a pearl farm is
established at Marungas Island.The backs
of sea turtlesare made into beautiful trays
and combs. During breaks from fishing, the
people build boats and weave mats. Other
industries include coffee processing and fruit
preservation.

42. Tourist
spots
of ARMM

43. Houses on Stilts
A typical fishermen’s village at
Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi. The Sama
and Tausug houses are built on
stilts.

44. Are an indigenous ethnic
group of Maritime Southeast Asia.
Bajau continue to live a seaborne
lifestyle.
Bajau Kids

45. Benolen Hot
Spring

46. Ligawasan Marsh
Ligawasan Marsh is the largest swamp and
marsh area in Mindanao and one of the largest in
the Philippines.

47. Seit Lake, Panamao, Sulu

48. Bunbun Beach
Powdery white beach sand, pristine
waters and a breathtaking view at
Bunbun Beach, Patikul, Sulu.