Garcia hopes for reapportionment of Sulu seats in BARRM parliament

Commission on Elections Chairperson George Garcia INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) hopes that Congress should reapportion the seats of Sulu in the Bangsamoro Parliament.
Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia made this call after the Senate’s approval of the bicameral conference committee report on the bill resetting the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to October 2025.
READ: Senate ratifies bicam report on BARMM polls reset
“We saw the deep reason behind the Congress’ decision to delay the polls,” Garcia said in Filipino during the sidelines of poll workers training in a Manila hotel.
Garcia said that, once approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the postponement of BARRM polls may give Congress time to reapportion the seven seats of Sulu in BARRM polls.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Sulu voters still divided on province’s Bangsamoro region exit
Article continues after this advertisement“I hope there will be a reapportionment or the distribution of the seven seats in the remaining provinces,” Garcia said.
Sulu voted against the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) so the Supreme Court ruled that the province is not part of the BARRM.
BOL states that the BARRM parliament should have 80 seats, but the parliamentary elections only sees 65 seats being up for grabs if it pushes through on the original May 12 schedule.
Of the 65, 25 are allotted for parliamentary district representatives. The rest or 40 are reserved for regional parliamentary political parties, which is similar to the party-list system.
Eight of the seats are for sectoral groups, which shall be elected in their own convention or assembly separate from the parliamentary polls.
Then, the seven remaining seats were supposed to be for Sulu which is no longer part of BARRM.
If Sulu’s seats become reapportioned, Garcia said the Comelec will conduct another set of certificate of candidacy filing in June or few months before the proposed October election day.