ROMELYN G.

GUSTUIR
BS ARCHITECTURE 5A

Question: How do you treat the claim of Philippines over Sabah? Is it

Imperium? or Dominium?

According to some articles, Sabah is located on the northern

portion of Borneo Island in which the Philippines are at north and
east portion of it. The government of Malaysia and the Philippines
has an incompatible agreement over the ownership to the land.

There are a lot of issues regarding the claim of the

Philippines over Sabah. Does the Philippines have the right to
claim it? Are the reasons valid? Should the Philippines be allowed
to add the Sabah to their property?

As a student, the Philippines has the right to claim for it.

Because Sabah was a part of the Sultanate of Sulu that is given as
a gift by the Sultan of Brunei. Philippines said that they are the
successor state of the Sultanate of Sulu, in which they claim the
Sabah because on year 1878, it was leased for 100 years by the
Sultan to the British businessman, and it is the under the contract
between them.

Also, Sabah is a Sultan of Sulu, in which it is the citizen

of the Philippines. According to some stories, the Britain
contributes payments to the Sultanate as a cession payment, but
the Sultan said that these are lease payments. Also, the British
North Borneo Company rented it from the Sultan for plantations
because the place is rich for mineral resources. Therefore, the
claiming of Malaysia in the Sabah is not sustainable because it
was only leased to the company and not ceded. The Sultanate used
to rule the southern Philippines including the Sabah.

If ever there is a chance that the Philippines successfully

claimed the Sabah, there is a chance to the progress of the economy
in the Mindanao part of the country because of the annual income
of $70 billion. It would become an economic engine in the
Philippines, too. Because it is rich in minerals and fertile lands.
There is also an existing oil in Sabah that will help the country
more productive.
Is it Imperium or Dominium?

The claiming of Philippines over Sabah is an example of

Dominuim because according to the definition of it, it is the
absolute ownership of the property by a person or country. The
Philippines has the right to claim and use and has the right to
control the property of it. Even though the Malaysia pays rent for
it, still it is only leased according to the said company but still
the Philippines has the right to rule the Sabah.