1962

- On June 22, 1962, the Philippines officially made its first attempt to claim Sabah by filing a claim
against the United Kingdom (UK), which was in control of the region at the time.

- North Borneo was "ceded" to the Philippines by the heirs of Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I, the
sultan of Sulu, on September 12, 1962, during President Diosdado Macapagal's administration. At
that time, the Philippines claimed complete sovereignty, title, and dominion over the region.

1963

- Sabah obtained independence on August 31, 1963, following a referendum in which many people
voted in favor of joining the Federation of Malaysia. (Satu referendum telah diadakan di Sabah, yang
menghasilkan undian yang memberangsangkan untuk negeri itu menjadi sebahagian daripada
Malaysia selepas referendum diadakan.)

- The Philippines, on the other hand, has maintained their claim on the grounds that the 1878 deal
was a lease, not a sale of land, as Malaysia and the British believed.

- Following the 1946 North Borneo Cession Order, Francis Burton Harrison, the ex-US Governor
General who served as a foreign adviser to the newly formed Philippines Republic, declared the
transfer of Sabah from the North Borneo Chartered Company to the Crown to be illegal on the
grounds that other interested parties were not included in the agreement.

- The North Borneo Chartered Business (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company
(BNBC), was a British chartered company founded on November 1, 1881 to administer and develop
North Borneo's resources (Sabah). The area was designated as a protectorate of the British Empire in
1888, although the corporation remained connected with it until 1946, when management was
entirely taken over by the Crown colony government.

- In the same year, Diosdado Macapagal, the then-President of the Philippines, refused to recognise
the Federation of Malaysia due to the inclusion of Sabah.

- The Manila Accord was signed on July 31, 1963, by Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and it
featured the peaceful resolution of the Philippines' claim to Sabah.

- The Philippines, on the other hand, continues to insist on their claim and other negotiations. The
Manila agreement, in particular, maintained and preserved its ability to pursue the claim regardless
of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.

- According to Associate Professor of Law from the University of the Philippines, Jay Batongbacal,
the Philippine government’s official position since they announced the claim in 1962 and
subsequent negotiations – particularly the Manila Accord – “…established and preserved that right
to pursue the claim despite the formation of the Federation of Malaysia and the conduct of
relations thereafter.”

- The Sulu Sultanate has utilised the Manila Accord several times to compel the Filipino government
to assert its claim to the northern half of Sabah, as the Sultanate still exerts enormous influence
among Sulu citizens.

- In fact, during his presidential campaign in 2016, President Duterte committed to pursue the claim,
which garnered him tremendous political support from citizens.
- The Philippines refuses to recognize Malaysia and broke off diplomatic relations with Malaysia
following the formation of the federation with Sabah in 1963. (Malaysia ditolak pengiktirafan oleh
Filipina.)

- However, relations were presumably renewed unofficially through the Manila Accord, in which
the Philippines stated that its position on the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of
Malaysia was dependent on the resolution of the Philippine claim to North Borneo.