COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 03 August) – “Our doors will never close,” Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua said in a statement issued Saturday, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s issuance of Executive Order 91 declaring Sulu part of Region 9 or Zamboanga Peninsula region. “We call for calm, unity, and understanding as we navigate this new chapter,” Macacua said, noting that the ties of history, culture, and kinship between Sulu and the rest of the Bangsamoro remain strong. “Even with those changes in administrative boundaries, we will continue to work and strive to find ways of extending our services and assistance to the province, pursuant to pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 11504,” he said. RA 11054 is the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the enabling law of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the peace agreement signed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). EO 91, signed by Marcos on July 30, implements the Supreme Court’s September 9, 2024 unanimous ruling that RA 11054 is constitutional but declared that the province of Sulu is not part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The Province of Sulu, which voted no to the ratification of RA 11054, questioned the law’s provision on the plebiscite that the votes of the provinces and cities under the ARMM will be treated as “one geographical area.” The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the interpretation of the provision in the law directing the provinces and cities of ARMM to vote as one geographical unit, as it violates Article X, Section 18 of the Constitution, which states that only provinces, cities, and geographic areas voting favorably in the plebiscite shall be included in the autonomous region. The Supreme Court cited consent of the governed. Sulu voted against inclusion in the BARMM as Tan campaigned for a “No” vote in the 2019 plebiscite to ratify the law. Sulu Vice Governor Abdusakur Tan told MindaNews on Sunday that “logic dictates that we should be close to the center of the regional government especially since we share the same culture tradition and an overwhelming majority of the Zamboanga City residents are Bagsa Sug and Muslims. We want to make life easy for our people.” MindaNews asked Tan, who was Governor when the Supreme Court decision was released September last year if Sulu would move to Region 9. His reply then: “Wala pang region. Kasi una hiningi ko kay Presidente kung pwede maging pilot province kami under the Office of the President” (No region yet. Because first, I asked the President if we can be a pilot province under the Office of the President). He said as a “pilot province under the Office of the President,” the Cabinet would be kept abreast of what Sulu needs. “Definitely, funds would be much, much faster. Benefits would be greater. So (in) the province, we should be able to benefit even much more.” According to Tan, the President’s response to his proposal then was that he would consult his lawyers. Zamboanga City is the seat of the region that comprises the three Zamboanga provinces – del Norte, del Sur and Sibugay – and the cities therein, including Zamboanga. Zamboanga City is nearer Sulu than Cotabato City. Also part of Region 9 is Isabela City which geographically belongs to Basilan but like Sulu, voted against the ratification of RA 11054 in 2019. The Bangsamoro Government, Macacua said, “reaffirms its unwavering commitment to upholding the dignity and welfare of every constituent, and to pursuing a shared future built on peace, autonomy, and self-determination. He acknowledged that Sulu’s transfer to Region 9 “though difficult and deeply emotional for many of us in the Bangsamoro region, is part of the democratic and constitutional process to which we remain committed.” Macacua said the priority in the transition is to ensure that services will be unhampered. He said they will continue working closely with the National Government and the concerned agencies to facilitate a “smooth, orderly, and respectful transition that does not disrupt essential public services.” He said education, health care, social assistance, and all other government support must continue without interruption for the people of Sulu. EO 91 directs all national government agencies (NGAs) to include Sulu under Region 9 for “regional administration, development planning, investment programming and budgeting, and other relevant purposes under applicable laws, rules and regulations.” The SC ruling was immediately executory and alarmed BARMM employees in Sulu. But they were later assured that BARMM would continue to pay their salaries until yearend of 2024 and until yearend of 2025. EO 91 provides that effective fiscal year 2026, all Programs, Activities, and Projects (PAPs) in Sulu shall be fully implemented by the NGAs concerned, the Provincial Government of Sulu and its respective local government units. There have been efforts in the previous Congress to return Sulu back to the BARMM. In the 19th Congress, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri filed on January 14, 2025 Senate Bill 2915 for the “inclusion of the province of Sulu” in the BARMM. In the 20th Congress, no bill has been filed for the return of Sulu to the BARMM as of July 31 in both houses. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera and Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
