BARMM parliament convenes Monday for crucial districting measure

COTABATO CITY—The parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) convened Monday afternoon to take up a measure crucial in setting off next steps for the holding of its first-ever parliamentary elections.

The elections will take the region to a path of democratic governance which is one of the key promises of the 2014 peace deal between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which gave up its secessionist struggle for greater autonomous powers for the regional government.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Yacob convened the special session at 1 p.m. Monday upon the request of Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua so that the members of parliament (MPs) can continue deliberation on proposals to create 32 parliamentary districts throughout the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA).

An indicative order of business prepared by Floor Leader John Anthony Lim, the body will solely consider Committee Report No. 196 submitted by the committees on local government and rules on Parliament Bill (PB) Nos. B 403, 407, 408, 411, 415 and 416.

In accordance with the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the BARMM’s charter, one representative will be elected from each district, in all comprising 40 percent of the 80-seat regional legislature.

Other elected MPs will be party representatives (40 or 50 percent) and sectoral representatives (8 or 10 percent).

On Feb. 28, 2024, the parliament enacted Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 58 creating the 32 districts but its geographic scope had to be adjusted after the Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 9, 2024, that Sulu province is not part of the BARMM as majority of its voters rejected the BOL during the 2019 plebiscite.

This led to the enactment of BAA 77 on Dec. 12, 2024, but its constitutionality was questioned before the Supreme Court.

On Sept. 30, 2025, the high court ruled that BAA 77 is unconstitutional for creating districts in Cotabato City, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao that failed to meet the requirements of its component localities being adjacent and contiguous.

The court also junked BAA 58 as a basis for holding elections for parliamentary district representatives as it was based on an outmoded framework, that is, the inclusion of Sulu in the BARMM.

With no parliamentary districts to speak of, the Oct. 13, 2025 regional elections set by Congress was called off by the high court.

It was the third postponement of the elections – the first one from May 2022 to May 2025, and from May 2025 to Oct. 13, 2025.

The high court ruling also directed the BARMM parliament to immediately enact a new districting measure and asked Congress to fix a new date of regional elections, even as it issued a general guideline that the political exercise should be conducted “at the latest on March 31, 2026.”

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said that Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri assured them that asking Congress to fix a date of the regional elections will be easier if a districting measure is already enacted by the BARMM parliament.

To pass or not to pass

Deputy Speaker Nabil Tan had told journalists that PB No. 415 has become the working draft after several rounds of public consultations.

This means the 32 districts are allocated as follows: Tawi-Tawi 4, Basilan 4, Lanao del Sur 9, Cotabato City 3, SGA 2, Maguindanao del Norte 5, and Maguindanao del Sur 5.

MP Naguib Sinarimbo said the joint parliament committees on local government and rules had chosen PB 415 as the version that closely addresses the issues flagged by the Supreme Court in BAA 70.

On Dec. 18 last year, Sinarimbo was scheduled to present the committee report to the plenary which could have moved the consideration of the districting measure forward.

But there was no quorum, forcing the parliament to just adjourn for the Yuletide break.

Racing against time, Macacua requested a Dec. 29 special session, but Yacob begged off as many MPs and legislative staff were not available.

As the parliament convenes, a major issue that is expected to crop up before they can take up the nitty-gritty of districting is the legality of passing the measure as such act is already within the 120-day period prior to Election Day when any alteration of districts, precincts, or territorial configuration is prohibited.

This view has been advanced by Bangsamoro Attorney General Bantuas Lucman, citing Resolution No. 11181 of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that set the date of the regional elections on March 30, 2026.

Sinarimbo earlier wanted to have Bantuas’ legal opinion submitted for debate and resolved by the plenary, even as he also asked that Comelec lift the said resolution to help clear the air.

A few contentions

The Inquirer examined all the districting versions and found that these proposals have more provisions in common and only a few contending ones.

PB 416 is only concerned with the SGA, seeking that its eight towns be constituted as two districts, a proposal also enshrined in PBs 403, 407, 408 and 415.

PB 411 proposes only one district for SGA as it added one to Basilan. But in its subdivision of the localities, two districts fall short of the required 100,000 minimum population.

PBs 403, 407, 408, and 415 generally agreed on the subdivision for Basilan’s four districts, except a minor difference in where to group Akbar town.

PBs 403, 407, 408, 411 and 415 have the same subdivision of localities for the four districts of Tawi-Tawi.

PBs 403, 407, 408 and 415 have the same subdivision of localities for the two districts of SGA.

For Maguindanao del Norte, only PBs 407 and 415 achieved a subdivision of localities that conform to the requirements of population and contiguity.

PB 408 created one district that left out Sultan Mastura town from the rest of three other adjacent localities while PBs 403 and 411 had one district falling short of the minimum population.

For Maguindanao del Sur, PBs 403, 408, 411 and 415 have the same subdivision of localities for its five districts, while PB 407 differs only with them in the grouping for Paglat town.

For Lanao del Sur, PBs 403, 408, 411 and 415 had minor differences in the subdivision of localities.

And their major difference with PB 407 is that the latter seeks to create two districts in Marawi City.

The major difference among PBs 403, 407, 408, 411 and 415 is in the subdivision of Cotabato City’s 37 villages into three districts. /gsg