Hits and misses in BARMM rallies (1)
Cotabato City—Here and in key areas of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), three massive political mass actions have taken place, manifesting growing restiveness and a possible deep political fissure within the hierarchy of its leaders. Such fissure is creating intense political tensions, enough for a former national defense adviser to predict a possible pyroclastic political event that will culminate in the projected first parliamentary elections on Sept. 14, 2026.
On June 22, 2026, the newly formed political party in the region, the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), staged a rally in front of the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City. Thousands of supporters and BFP original and new members gathered to “demand stronger governance, accountability, and the continuation of investigations into allegations of corruption within the BARMM government.”
The BFP is one of the BARMM’s emerging regional political parties participating in the forthcoming September 2026 historic parliamentary elections. Various posts on social media claim it has garnered the support of some key Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders, including several municipal mayors of component local government units.
As provided for in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) ratified in 2019, all officials of the fledgling region are appointed by the sitting president of the country. Republic Act No. 11054 (the BOL) also stipulates that among the top appointive officials will come from the leadership of the MILF.
At face value, the BFP’s massive June 22 rally presents a legitimate action on what its members perceive as one of the most critical challenges in the short history of the BARMM—corruption. And the target of these “demands” for transparency and accountability are among the top leaders of the region, two of whom had been unceremoniously removed from their respective offices for accusations of massive corruption.
However, such allegations among regional officials are not new.
The region’s predecessor, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), also drew similar perceptions of massive corruption among its different leaders, all of whom were handpicked by the sitting president in Malacañang, although elected by popular vote.
There were no massive rallies then, no investigations, and no paper trail of exactly how much went through private coffers courtesy of sitting government officials who transferred public financial resources to their personal bank accounts, or physically stored them in an attic in one of their vacation houses. The latter has been the grist for past rumor mills in the region.
One of these reports was the existence of “ghost teachers” perceived widely, although not investigated thoroughly, to be numbering in the tens of thousands. There were also “ghost schools,” and this was acknowledged, although in a backhanded manner. The Department of Education responded with a massive geotagging of schools in the region, complete with the school identification numbers that we see now.
The perpetrators of this theft of resources have not been held accountable. They could probably be sitting on top of the wealth they accumulated that they did not work for. Some could be among the present recycled politicians and administrators in different positions in the new region, including members of the transition government, who knows?
As a former editor of a Cotabato City-based community paper, The Mindanao Cross, (1990-1995), I could recall several news stories about different forms of corruption in the region, starting with rigging of regional and local elections, to malversation of public funds, and even violations of certain antilogging laws. We covered all these as news reports; there were attempts to hold some people accountable. But these only got violent responses. A civil society leader who called me to disclose some evidence of election rigging was killed before he reached our editorial office.
For our series of investigative reports on some corrupt practices within the Department of Tourism in the ARMM, we got summons to appear before a hearing on our “libelous” news reports. Some friends tell me that I was not only the first Muslim woman editor in chief of the Cross, I was also the “best dressed” compared to my male predecessors because of the two libel suits filed against me and the Cross. But both cases were dismissed “for lack of merit.”
The situation at present is entirely different, but the same type of allegations and demands for accountability and transparency have become widely known, making us feel that we are moving toward more judicious, responsible, and responsive governance. Or are we really?
(To be concluded next week.)
—————–
Comments to rcguiam@gmail.com
