On with the BARMM Parliament poll

From all indications, the election for the 80-man Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliament will take place as scheduled on May 12, 2025. The Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, sealed yesterday this fate by rejecting the appeals to reverse their Sept. 9 decision.

Just last week, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) disclosed that Malacañang Palace started already the review of the proposals to postpone anew the BARMM Parliament poll originally synchronized with the coming national and local elections (NLE).

The present 80-man Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will continue to function as the interim BARMM Parliament. But in order for the election to be postponed again, Republic Act (RA) 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that created the BARMM in July 2018, must be amended. The Bangsamoro Parliament election was originally scheduled to be held on May 9, 2022.

The BARMM Parliament election was first postponed and was synchronized to May 12 next year. Then president Rodrigo Duterte approved its postponement and signed RA 11593 on Oct. 28, 2021. A few months after he took office, PBBM appointed a new set of BTA members that composed the present interim parliament.

Forty-nine BTA members were reappointed while 31 new members were named. The composition include 41 nominees from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and 39 government nominees were retained. The BTA is currently led by Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, who is also the MILF chairman.

The ball is now in the court of the 19th Congress to reset the BARMM Parliament election for the nth time.

The SC ruling virtually threw a monkey wrench in the process. More than four years after it was filed, the SC handed down its decision upholding the petition to exclude Sulu from the BARMM while they affirmed the constitutionality of the BOL. The SC ruling, however, effectively leaves vacant the seven parliamentary district seats intended for Sulu. If these are not reapportioned by the BTA, there will only be 73 duly elected members of the supposedly 80-seat BARMM Parliament. Once elected, they will assume office on June 30 next year.

The 15-man High Court ruling was based on the results of the plebiscite that showed majority votes of Sulu residents rejected their province’s inclusion in BARMM. The BOL, enacted in 2018, required ratification by plebiscite. The plebiscites covered the BARMM’s predecessor – the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) – to include Isabela City in Basilan and Cotabato City, Lanao del Norte, municipalities in North Cotabato, while other areas petitioned for voluntary inclusion.

“Since Sulu was removed (from BARMM), there is a need to amend the law on BARMM. The transition authority needs to work on the new system, including the new administrative code, the new local government code and new electoral code,” PBBM pointed out.

“We did not see the many unintended consequences of the decision of the Supreme Court. We need to work on these… It is better to implement the necessary amendments rather than fast-tracking them but will create chaos in the end,” PBBM added.

The Bangsamoro Attorney General’s Office immediately filed before the SC two appeal motions in October, seeking to intervene and motion for reconsideration (MR) of this ruling. Also in the same month, the BTA adopted a resolution requesting the 19th Congress to move the election instead to 2028 on account of Sulu’s exclusion from the BARMM.

However, the SC reiterated earlier this month that its decision is already final and immediately executory.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has repeatedly declared they are on track to hold the first ever BARMM Parliament polls next year. Headed by Chairman George Erwin Garcia, the seven-man poll body has kept close to the timetable of the BARMM Parliament poll.

Senate President Francis Escudero on Nov. 4 filed a bill seeking to defer for one year the BARMM Parliament elections in view of this SC ruling. Escudero revealed he had talks with PBBM about the snowballing sentiments from the sectors affected by the SC ruling. The Senate chief is optimistic PBBM would certify as an urgent administration measure his proposal, Senate Bill (SB) 2862, given the importance of the measure and the tight schedule of the Senate and the House of Representatives for the remainder of the 19th Congress.

At the Lower House, Speaker Martin Romualdez led eight other congressmen in seeking the resetting of the first general BARMM election. In filing House Bill (HB) 11034, Romualdez and his co-authors sought to move the BARMM election to May 11, 2026 instead. Under HB 11034, the President shall appoint the 80 new interim members of the BTA who shall serve until their successors shall have been elected and qualified. The term of office of the present BTA members shall be deemed expired.

The latest to weigh in for postponement was the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) headed by Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. Last Monday, Galvez appealed to lawmakers for the speedy enactment of their bills to prevent the “unintended consequences” of the exclusion of Sulu province from BARMM. Aside from the uncertainty of some 5,000 BARMM workers in Sulu who could lose their jobs, Galvez is worried there is not enough time for Congress to amend BOL for this purpose.

A group of 35 civil society organizations in Mindanao opposed the postponement of the election and were also critical on the progress of decommissioning of the MILF as an armed rebel group. On the other hand, erstwhile MILF chairman Mohagher Iqbal and also BTA Parliament member echoed surprise on the moves in Congress to postpone again the election for the BARMM Parliament. In fact, Iqbal’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the MILF’s party, earlier filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs).

No worries. Chairman Garcia has committed that the Comelec will honor the COCs if the election for the BARMM Parliament is still on, until another law prevails.