BARMM lawmakers file new measure on parliamentary districts
COTABATO CITY—Seven Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has filed a new redistricting bill in a bid to beat the deadline set by the Supreme Court to come up with a new law creating parliamentary districts in the region.
The move came in the wake of the Sept. 30 ruling of the Supreme Court that declared Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 77 as well as its predecessor law, BAA 58, unconstitutional and gave the BARMM Parliament until Oct. 30 to come up with a new law, which will the become the basis for electing 32 of 80 members of the regional legislature.
The Supreme Court ruling has prompted the postponement of the first parliamentary elections in BARMM set on Oct. 13. The Supreme Court gave BARMM and the Commission on Elections until March 2026 to hold the elections.
Parliamentary Bill No. 403—authored by MPs Suharto Ambolodto, Baintan Ampatuan, Amenodin Sumagayan, Ishak Mastura, Ameer Zaakaria Rakim, Rashdi Adiong and Alirakim Munder—introduced on Monday the proposed Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districting Act of 2025 that would define the boundaries of parliamentary districts across the region.
PB 403 introduced 32 single-member parliamentary districts, apportioned among Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur provinces, Cotabato City and the BARMM Special Geographic Area based on population and land area.
