COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 6 January) — Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Speaker Mohammad Yacob called for a special session on January 12 to pass the new districting law, enabling the twice-postponed 1st Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections to proceed. The BTA Parliament is currently on recess and is set to resume sessions on January 19. Yacob’s call followed a request from Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, who previously sought a special session from December 29 to 31, but it did not materialize. The election, originally scheduled for May 9, 2022, was postponed to May 12, 2025, and then to October 13, 2025. However, the October 13 polls were canceled after the Supreme Court declared the BTA’s districting laws unconstitutional on September 30. The Court urged the BTA to pass a compliant districting law by October 30, 2025, and Congress to reschedule the elections by March 31, 2026. The BARMM comprises Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Marawi, Lamitan, Cotabato, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA). Up for election are 80 seats: 40 party representatives, 32 single district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives. Macacua’s December 22 letter followed a failed attempt to pass the proposed law on December 18 due to a lack of quorum, with only 38 MPs present. On Tuesday, a petition for indirect contempt was reportedly filed against 10 MPs who pushed for the law’s passage. Petitioner Zaoawi Buludan accused MPs Naguib Sinarimbo, Ishak Mastura, Tomanda Antok, Zulfickar-Ali Bayam, Rasul Ismael, Kitem Kadatuan, Rasol Mitmug, Amenodin Sumagayan, Romeo Sema, and Engr. Baintan Ampatuan. Sinarimbo dismissed the petition as “political harassment,” questioning why only a few MPs were targeted and noting deliberate efforts to block the law’s passage. He emphasized the truth would reveal who obstructed the process. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)
