Abdiel Franz Bernales

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is a step nearer to its first regional parliamentary elections as the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) opened the filing period for certificates of candidacy (COC) on November 4, amidst the postponement and rescheduled.

Photo Courtesy of Guinevere Latoza/PCIJ.org.

The first BARMM parliamentary elections, set for May 12 next year, will testify for the region's democratic spirit.

To be held simultaneously with the national and local midterm elections, the regional parliament members will exercise their democratic right to choose the BARMM's chief minister. 

Moreover, aspirants have been given a deadline of November 9 to file their COCs and declarations of intent to participate in the parliamentary elections in the Muslim-majority region.

The filing period for COC was rescheduled after the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on September 9. 

Sulu is excluded from BARMM because the province did not ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in the 2019 plebiscite.

The BARMM parliament includes sectoral representatives such as a tribal leader, an ulama, two Moro and Indigenous people representatives, two community settlers, and two representatives for women and the youth, ensuring that all voices are heard and represented.

However, with Sulu's exclusion based on the SC ruling, seven seats initially reserved for the province are no longer part of the composition.

The move led to the 2023 approval of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, which reserves 40 seats in the BARMM parliament to political parties, eight to sectoral representatives, and 32 to the newly created districts. 

Starting next year, members of parliament will be elected every three years.

However, in a move seen as a last resort to delay the BARMM elections, BARMM parliament member Bainran Ampatuan authored a resolution calling on the congress to reset the first regional elections to 2028 to ensure a "smooth democratic transition."

If the congress approves the BTA's proposed extension, it would be the second delay in BARMM's parliamentary elections. 

The Bangsamoro Organic Law initially scheduled these elections for May 2023, but Republic Act 11583, signed in 2021 by then-president Rodrigo Duterte, rescheduled them to coincide with the 2024 midterm elections.