Several attempts at legalizing autonomy in the Cordillera region have failed in two separate plebiscites. An affirmative vote for the law on regional autonomy is a precondition by the 1987 Philippine Constitution to give the region autonomy in self-governance much like the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (now the BARMM) in southern Philippines. The first law "Republic Act No. 6766", took effect on October 23, 1989 but failed to muster a majority vote in the plebiscite on January 30, 1990. The second law, "Republic Act No. 8438" passed by Congress of the Philippines on December 22, 1997, also failed to pass the approval of the Cordillera peoples in a region-wide plebiscite on March 7, 1998.