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1. One of the greatest challenges facing the Philippine politico-administrative system over the past century was the so-called “Mindanao problem. ” This “problem ” was characterized mostly by the lack of, or absence of peace in the area as manifested by the continuous armed struggle of what has been collectively (though not always correctly) referred to as the “Muslim secessionist movement. ” This so-called secessionist movement represented the disenchantment of the Muslim minorities with the national government based in Manila that was accused of neglecting the needs of the Filipino population – mostly the Muslims – in Mindanao. This was especially true in the area of the delivery of social services in particular and human development in general. 2. Indeed, human development statistics and figures bear them out. Human development outcomes in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)3 are the lowest in the country. In fact, human development indicators among the 16 Regions reveal that ARMM has the poorest human development conditions. The World Bank (2004) points out that, By any measure, ARMM has the poorest human development outcomes among the 16 Regions in the Philippines. A child born in the Region today has very limited prospects for a long, productive, and healthy life compared with children in the rest of the country. 3. Poverty incidence in ARMM is highest among the 16 Regions at 57 percent, more than double of the overall percentage of 28.4 percent. These are also true in related areas such as in child mortality, life expectancy, literacy rate, education cohort survival, etc. Among the factors that lead to poor human development, outcomes include economic, social, political, and cultural factors