COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 16 January) – The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) has started the public consultations for the creation of the proposed 32 districts in the region, with a senior official stressing the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary elections in 2025 won’t happen if the districts will not be established.
Parliament Bill No. 267 or Parliamentary Districts Act of 2023 was proposed by the Government of the Day, which is led by Interim Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim.
Explaining the important role of the bill in the upcoming 2025 parliamentary elections, Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, the BTA Floor Leader and Committee on Rules chairperson, emphasized that the creation of districts is a prerequisite for conducting the regional elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The BARMM is the only region adopting a parliamentary government system in a country with a highly-centralized Presidential system.
“The absence of these districts would hinder the electoral process, underscoring the necessity of the legislation for the political progression of the region,” Alba pointed out.
The Bangsamoro parliamentary elections will be held simultaneously with the 2025 national midterm and local elections.
The consultation started on Monday, January 15, at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex here, followed by simultaneous public consultations Tuesday, January 16, in Parang town for Maguindanao del Norte and in Midsayap town for the Special Geographic Area (SGA) in Cotabato province.
Under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, the parliament will be composed of 80 Members of Parliament, consisting of 40 party representatives, 32 district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives.
The public consultation serves as a platform for stakeholders to express their stance on Parliament Bill No. 267.
In Cotabato, while local leaders led by Mayor Bruce Matabalao are pushing for three districts, the bill allotted only two districts despite the city exceeding the population requirement.
The first district would have 20 barangays while the second would include 17.
Tamontaka Mother Barangay Chairman Wawi Sema wanted to be with the rest of Tamontaka’s Barangays 1 to 5, which are intact in the proposed second district of the city.
Barangay Tamontaka Mother was included in the first district of the proposed measure, he said.
For Barangay Poblacion 7, Allaisa Adtong, the village secretary, said they wanted to transfer in the first district from the assigned second district.
“District 1 barangays are mostly located along Sinsuat Avenue and the rest after Sinsuat Avenue would form District 2. Barangay Poblacion 7, which is near Sinsuat Avenue, should belong to District 1. We humbly request to be transferred from District 2 to District 1,” Adtong said.
In Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, Matanog town representative Ponpon Zaman pushed that they be part of the second district of the province with Parang town and Sultan Mastura. In the proposed measure, Matanog is part of District 1 along with Buldon and Barira town.
Zaman said that the reason they wanted to be part of District 2 is because of historical considerations and the coastal contiguity with Parang, from which Matanog was carved out.
But Buldon town Vice Mayor Abolais Manalao opposed Matanog town’s bid, saying it could hamper their qualification with Barira to become a district as it might affect the population requirement.
“Unless another nearby town in the province could fill the gap,” Manalao said.
Parang town Mayor Cahar Ibay said the two districts for the “One Iranun” – or the towns of Parang, Buldon, Barira, Matanog and Sultan Mastura – would be advantageous to the group. Four districts are allocated to Maguindanao del Norte under the bill.
The bigger towns of Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat and the smaller Talitay town were not able to send any representatives to the public consultation.
Another consultation was simultaneously conducted in Midsayap town, for the lone district of the Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province.
Among the key issues raised during the consultation is the proposal to have two parliamentary districts, as they qualified for the population requirement.
The next set of consultations will tackle the creation of three districts in Basilan, seven in Sulu, three in Tawi-Tawi, eight in Lanao del Sur and four in Maguindanao del Sur.
The committee encouraged active public participation, inviting individuals and groups to submit their position papers on or before February 2.
In the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, there were 24 districts across the region. Each district had three representatives called “assemblyman or assemblywoman.”
For the Bangsamoro parliament, the proposal is one representative per district. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
