Marcos green lights first BARMM polls in Sept
COTABATO CITY—Civil society and government leaders in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) celebrated the signing into law by President Marcos on Wednesday of Republic Act No. 12317, pressing the final button to greenlight the first parliamentary elections in the region.
The measure provides for the holding of the political exercise, which was already postponed twice since 2019, on the second Monday of September this year.
RA 12317 is the third time that Congress reset the scheduled polls in the BARMM. The first regular parliamentary elections under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) should have been in May 2022 but this was moved to May 2025, then to Oct. 13, 2025.
The last schedule did not push through due to legal issues as the Supreme Court ruled against a regional law creating 32 parliamentary districts. A new measure was already firmed up by the Bangsamoro parliament last January, although this is still the subject of several petitions before the high court.
“[We] express [our] gratitude to Congress and the President for the timely approval of RA 12317. This legislation boosts the confidence of BARMM citizens who have eagerly awaited the opportunity to select their leaders through their right to vote,” said lawyer Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance and lead convener of the nongovernment Independent Election Monitoring Center.
The Commission on Elections, he said, can now hasten its preparations for the historic polls.
Peace process
The BARMM is a product of the Bangsamoro peace process with its charter, the BOL, crafted along the letter and spirit of the landmark Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that was forged between the government and the erstwhile separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after 17 years of negotiations, with about 12 years under the facilitation of Malaysia. The parties inked the pact on March 27, 2014.
Following ratification of the BOL in January 2019, the national government organized the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) as the BARMM’s interim government. Its members are all appointed by the President.
The constant postponement of the elections had civil society groups worrying about the public legitimacy of the regional government. They also argued that with leaders bereft of mandate from the people, the promise of democratic governance enshrined in the CAB is frustrated.
Under RA 12317, those elected in September will assume office on Oct. 30 this year, and will serve until noon of June 30, 2031, a term of 56 months or close to five years.
The next election will be in May 2031, synchronized with the national schedule, and every three years thereafter, and those elected will assume office at noon of June 30 following their election.
Holdover
The law said that during the extended transition period, the BTA shall remain the interim regional government, unless such interim members are replaced by the President.
It also set a new period for filing of candidacies.
Up for contests are 40 seats for party representatives, 32 parliamentary district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives of whom two will be for non-Moro indigenous peoples, another two for settlers communities, and one each from the ranks of ulama (Muslim legal scholars, theologians and jurists), traditional leaders, youth and women.
“Now, we can all look forward to a representative Bangsamoro government elected by the people,” said Member of Parliament (MP) Ishak Mastura.
According to MP Naguib Sinarimbo, the upcoming polls “reinforces the right of suffrage of the Bangsamoro to select their leaders in the regional government through the democratic process of balloting.”
Maguindanao del Sur Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu lauded the President for having provided “ample time for the electorate and the candidates to prepare for the historic election.”
“This is a very positive development as far as the MILF is concerned. This election is very important because … the mandate now comes directly from the people, the electorate,” said Mohajirin Ali, spokesperson for MILF’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party.
In a statement, the Moro National Liberation Front’s Mahardika Party said they were “eager to participate in this historic election.”
“This is the fulfillment of our desire to have a just, dignified and developed Bangsamoro,” it said.
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
