COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 26 June) — The 1st parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will proceed as scheduled on October 13 for 73 instead of 80 parliamentary seats as the seven seats for single district representatives that were originally intended for Sulu have yet to be reapportioned by the interim Bangsamoro Parliament, said George Garcia, chair of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). “We cannot wait forever,” Garcia told the Regional Coordinating Conference between security and election officials at the 6th Infantry Division’s Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, on Wednesday. The Supreme Court in September last year ruled that Sulu is not part of the BARMM since its residents voted against its inclusion during the plebiscite of January 2019. “If we delay our preparations to wait for the decision on the (seven) seats, we might fall short,” he said. Voters in the BARMM are to elect 40 party representatives, 32 single district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives. Because Sulu is out, voters will elect only 23 single district representatives in October. Each parliamentary district, according to the BOL, must represent at least 100,000 population and be composed of adjacent and compact areas. According to Garcia, Comelec had given the BTA’s interim parliament two deadlines to reapportion the seven seats – first on May 30 and second on June 15 – so that the reapportioned seats could be incorporated for the printing of the ballots. But the law amending Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 58, or the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2024, has yet to be passed. Public hearings are still ongoing on Parliament Bill No. 351, filed by the Government of the Day, and Parliament Bill No. 347, authored by nine Members of Parliament, which are proposing amendments to BA 58. “We also have briefings on these matters,” Garcia said. He explained that names on the ballot “aren’t just simply printed. You have to create a database, integrate it into the source code, the source code is reviewed, and then the source code undergoes a trusted build. It’s a lengthy process; it’s not that easy. You still need international certification, you have a deposit, you have a mock election, etcetera.” Garcia also said the poll body is assessing if candidates’ photographs will be printed on the ballots, as only a small number of candidates for the parliamentary districts have submitted their photos. He noted that while political party logos and a “None of the Above” options will be printed on the ballots, the candidates’ photographs might be removed if there is no complete submission. The October 13 election is the first BARMM election after a six-year transition period. Originally scheduled for May 9, 2022, it was reset to May 12, 2025 after Congress passed a law extending the transition period for another three years until 2025. But the May 12, 2025 election was reset to October 13 by Republic Act No. 12123, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in February 2025. Member of Parliament Fahanie Uy-Oyod, chair of the Committee on Amendments, was optimistic that a resolution on the matter could be reached by the end of June. Thursday, however, was the last session day for the month and the law has not been passed. BTA Deputy Speaker Engr. Baintan Ampatuan, one of the sponsors of PB 347, said there are two versions of the redistricting bill on the table: Parliament Bill (PB) 351, sponsored by the Government of the Day, and PB 347. “We have different formula” but both bills adhere to the core principles of population and contiguity (adjoining areas) for district formation, she said. Under BAA 58, the 32 parliamentary districts are: eight for Lanao del Sur, seven for Sulu, four each for Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte, three each for Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, two in Cotabato City and one in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) in North Cotabato. The Government of the Day-sponsored PB 351 proposes that Maguindanao del Norte and del Sur will have five seats each, Basilan four, Tawi-Tawi four; Lanao del Sur nine (eight for the province and one for Marawi City) and two for the SGA. PB 347, on the other hand, also wants to allocate five each for Maguindanao del Norte and del Sur, four each for Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, but wants ten for Lanao del Sur (eight for the province and two for Marawi City) and only one for SGA. A minimum population of 100,000 per district is required. Ampatuan said it is “also possible that the final outcome will be a “hybrid” bill, combining provisions from both proposals based on committee consensus.” “We also want to hear from the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) and MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) to get their positions because they are an important part of the peace process. Also, the local government units and other sectors. We’ll just try to do it quickly so the committee has time to meet and deliberate on the different positions expressed, and then see how we can reconcile everything,” said Member of the Parliament Naguib Sinarimbo, who chairs the Local Government Committee. Sinarimbo served as BARMM Local Governments Minister from 2019 until December 2023. Garcia said the Memorandum Circular of interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua for courtesy resignations of all ministers, deputy ministers, and heads of offices and agencies “will have no immediate effect” on the conduct of the October 13 polls. Macacua issued the June 23 memo citing “serious and grave complaints” reaching his office and to “improve efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in this crucial phase of the end of the transition period.” The deadline set for the filing of courtesy resignations is on the last business hour of June 30. Those who refuse or fail to file will be deemed resigned by then. Garcia, however, cautioned that prolonged uncertainty regarding new leadership could eventually impact election preparations. He emphasized that Comelec relies heavily on various Bangsamoro offices, including the local government units and the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) for seamless election preparations. “We naturally need the local government, we need the MBHTE, we need other offices in Bangsamoro – who is the real focal person? And of course, we know that often the focal persons there are the heads, the ministers themselves of the ministry,” he explained. “If we can quickly find out who the true contacts are, it would be better for our proper preparation” for the polls, Garcia added. The BARMM is a product of a peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and MILF in March 2014. Its enabling law, RA 11054, was ratified in a plebiscite in January 2019. The autonomous region is the only region in the country with a parliamentary system of government. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)
