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February 28, 2012 Sultan Jamalul Kiram III Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo Taguig City Re: Legal grounds of Filipinos on the claim of Sabah Dear Sultan Jamalul,

This is a response on your request for legal opinion from our law firm regarding your claim on Sabah which you have encountered difficulty of imposing your rights over this land. You are inquiring about the legality of your claim over Sabah as far as International law regarding proprietary rights and Philippine laws in which your acts can be anchored. In your case, our 1987 Constitution expressly provided in Article I, The National Territory, the claim over this land. This was supported by enactment of the congress of statutes pertaining to this. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 5446, which was enacted on Sept. 18, 1968, provides, as follows: Section 2. The definition of the baselines of the territorial sea of the Philippine Archipelago as provided in this Act is without prejudice to the delineation of the baselines of the territorial sea around the territory of Sabah, situated in North Borneo, over which the Republic of the Philippines has acquired dominion and sovereignty. RA 9522, which was enacted on March 10, 2009, amends only Section 1 of RA 3046 entitled An Act to Define The Baselines of the Territorial Sea of the Philippines. The above provision of RA 5446 continues to be effective until today. You have also mentioned that you are holding a copy of authentic documents as far as history is concerned regarding the veracity of your claim on Sabah. And the most important of these documents are the Carpenter Agreement and the Deed 1878 wherein both documents clearly shows the ownership of Sultanate of Sulu over the Sabah land. In fact, the High Court of Borneo in a decision on a civil case filed by the your heirs against Great Britain favored the Sultanate of Sulu as the owner of Sabah. Through these, your acts is within the line of legality provided that your countrymen who occupied Lahud Datu did not violate any laws. In your information sent to us, you mention about the historical development on you claim over Sabah. This way back as early as 1457. History