Crucial BARMM elections
For the average Filipino based in Luzon and of today’s generation, the long-simmering conflict in Mindanao seems a far-off reality, a peripheral concern compared to the more urgent issues of rising oil prices because of the Middle East conflict, the resulting transport woes, and the political intramurals in Congress.
Too young to have known of the 1968 Jabidah massacre and the Muslim secessionist wars, Gen Xers may be more familiar with the Marawi siege of 2017, but see it as precipitated mainly by one man’s hubris and not the result of festering discontent.
Which might explain the lack of public outrage over the repeated postponement—the fourth so far—of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) first parliamentary elections finally set on Sept. 14.
The election is seen as a major test of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, marking the shift to a fully elected parliamentary government in the region. A credible and peaceful election is considered essential as well to consolidate the gains of the fledgling autonomous region under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
Framework for peace
Signed in July 2018, the BOL provided a framework for peace, justice, and self-governance for the Bangsamoro people. Aside from fiscal autonomy through a law that allows the region to have a larger share of national taxes and revenue generated within its territory, the BOL gives the Bangsamoro government authority on matters like the administration of justice; agriculture, livestock, and food security; ancestral domain and natural resources; budgeting; culture and language, and customary laws, among others.
It may be recalled that the first regular Bangsamoro parliamentary elections were supposed to be held in May 2022 to coincide with the presidential election, but was postponed to May 2025 when former President Rodrigo Duterte signed the law that extended the transition period for another three years. The May 2025 reset was meant to be synchronized with the midterm elections.
When President Marcos again postponed the polls to Oct. 13, 2025 to extend even further the transition period, it was widely seen as benefiting Bangsamoro Transition Authority members and other top appointive officials of the region.
A Supreme Court ruling that put Sulu outside of BARMM jurisdiction meanwhile cancelled last year’s October polls, which was then reset to March 2026. On March 25, the President again moved the elections to Sept. 14 this year.
Conflict-prone areas
The series of postponement of the BARMM elections can only worsen the volatile conditions in the region amid infighting among political clans, the jockeying for position among appointees, the incomplete decommissioning of arms from former rebels, and the prevailing distrust of government forces that has led to sporadic firefights among rival militia groups.
Several violent incidents in different localities have taken place recently: a police and military operation that killed 10 alleged members of a terrorist group in Lanao del Sur; an ambush in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur that killed five police officers; a similar incident in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur, and others that are still being verified.
The fragile peace has resulted in security forces being deployed across conflict-prone areas in Maguindanao and nearby provinces ahead of the election. As well, authorities have set up checkpoints and foot patrols, stepped up intelligence operations, and put in place formal surveillance of extremist forces and private armed groups. After all, militant factions, including remnants of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, could be exploited by local political interests seeking to perpetuate their hold on power.
Well-deserved right
With so much at stake, it is crucial that the September polls finally push through, as the series of postponements has kept the BARMM on unsteady footing, and with the impression that the national government does not deem it ready to elect its own representatives and leaders. The long period of uncertainty has also intensified the scramble for position and political clout among appointees who might have gotten used to the perks and privileges that go with their posts.
Such dillydallying could erode the trust in government that peace panels have so painstakingly built. While the President should be commended for crossing party lines and looking instead at the track record of Mel Senen Sarmiento—the former Interior Secretary of the late President Benigno Aquino III—to name him the new presidential peace adviser, he must do more to build on 10 years of the consultative peace process, and ensure that the September elections proceed as scheduled and held peacefully and credibly. This will give BARMM its well-deserved right to choose leaders who could finally start the process of rebuilding its future after decades of marginalization and dispossession.
The elections are a long-awaited recognition as well of the Muslim community’s rightful place alongside their fellow Filipinos.
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