File picture of BARMM regional headquarters
COTABATO CITY — Bangsamoro majority lawmakers have introduced a measure creating 32 parliamentary districts in the autonomous region, each of which will have a single representation to the parliament.
Parliament Bill No. 267, filed by the government of the day on Monday, Dec. 18, and which were to be deliberated on second reading on Tuesday, seeks to ensure equitable representation in the Parliament of the 4.9 million people in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The proposed bill, considered crucial in the preparation for the first parliamentary elections in 2025, will create 32 parliamentary districts in the region, each providing representation for every 100,000 people in the provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas that make up the BARMM.
Of the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, 32 represent the district, 40 the parties, and eight the sectors.
The proposed bill also outlines the distribution of these districts; which includes three in Basilan, seven in Sulu, three in Tawi-Tawi, eight in Lanao del Sur, four in Maguindanao del Norte, four in Maguindanao del Sur, two in Cotabato City, and one in the Special Geographic Area made up of the 63 villages that formerly belonged to Cotabato province but opted to belong to the BARMM.
The Bangsamoro Transition Authority, under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, has been authorized to reconstitute districts to guarantee equitable representation, allowing for redistricting, merging, or creating districts based on population and geographical considerations.
Each district will have at least 100,000 residents and designed to be contiguous, compact and adjacent. The distribution of districts will be based on both population and geographical area.
District representatives will be elected through a direct majority vote by registered voters in their respective parliamentary districts, allowing independent candidates to participate, provided they are registered in the district and have lived there for at least one year before the election.
Bangsamoro, the expanded autonomous region created in 2019 after the ratification of its governing Bangsamoro Organic Law, has been the product of years of peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), who both signed the peace deal in 2014.
For the first time in 2025, the region will hold its election, the chance for the Bangsamoro people to choose leaders who will represent them in the Parliament.
Under the BOL, members of Parliament will serve three-year terms and will be limited to three consecutive terms.
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