Law on BARMM districts passed
COTABATO CITY—The parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) finally hammered out a law creating 32 parliamentary districts, setting the stage for Congress to fix a date for the regional elections.
The measure was mustered in a special session of the parliament convened on Monday afternoon and stretched toward the wee hours of Tuesday.
The breakthrough came at 12:33 a.m. on Tuesday when the parliament’s secretary general, Raby Angkal, announced that after nominal voting, Parliament Bill No. 415, as amended, garnered 48 votes in favor, 19 not in favor, and four abstentions.
PB 415 was adopted by the committees on rules and local government as the working draft of the measure as this was assessed to be the version that closely addresses the issues flagged by the Supreme Court in declaring as unconstitutional Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 77 in a ruling issued on Sept. 30 last year.
Without a valid districting law, the high court called off the Oct. 13, 2025 regional elections and had asked Congress to fix a date for it, although the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had set the political exercise to be on March 30 this year.
Legally sound
Committee on Local Government Chair Naguib Sinarimbo said PB 415 directly addresses the Supreme Court’s highlighted issues, adjusting district configurations in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Cotabato City to ensure they are contiguous, compact, and adjacent.
Floor Leader John Anthony Lim noted that the lawmakers carefully crafted the bill to be legally sound, incorporating the guidance of the Supreme Court while safeguarding the region’s election timetable.
In a succession of short speeches to explain their votes, lawmakers stressed the importance of holding elections to give voice to some 2.3 million BARMM voters who had been waiting for over three years to make their political sentiments matter in how the region is governed.
The region is currently run by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority created through executive fiat in 2019 following the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, with its members appointed by the President. The scheduled election on May 2022 was first moved to May 2025, and then to Oct. 13, 2025.
Reacting to the development, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said they are still confronted by “strong legal and operational issues” on whether to conduct elections on March 30 this year, pointing to the absence of a law fixing its date.
Garcia said the BARMM districting law has to face the hurdle of its timing not being violative of the continuing registration law (Republic Act No. 8189).
“Overall, the SC clearly emphasized that there should be no redistricting 120 days before the election. Since, as mandated by the decision, we fixed the date of election on March 30, 2025, this will now run contrary to the prohibition mentioned and the provision of the law,” Garcia said.
Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. lauded the breakthrough achieved by the parliament, hoping that this “must be matched by collaborative efforts from the national and Bangsamoro governments, civil society, and citizens of the BARMM to ensure that the upcoming elections are peaceful, inclusive, and reflective of the Bangsamoro’s aspirations.”
