BARMM parliament seats left by Sulu won’t stop ’25 polls

SESSION BREAK Members of the Bangsamoro Parliament huddle during a break in their session on Wednesday. The regional legislature has yet to act on a proposed measure to deal with the impact of the Supreme Court ruling removing Sulu province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. —PHOTO COURTESY OF BANGSAMORO TRANSITION AUTHORITY

COTABATO CITY—A top election official of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said they were awaiting action by the interim parliament on the seven parliamentary district seats previously allocated for Sulu province so preparations for the 2025 elections can go full steam.

Bangsamoro Electoral Office (BEO) director Ray Sumalipao said there was a need for a law to revise the allocation of district representatives after the Supreme Court ruled that Sulu was not part of the BARMM.

Under Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 58, Sulu has seven of 32 parliamentary district seats.

Because of the high court ruling, the parliamentary district seats are reduced to only 25, thereby also reducing the number of total parliament seats to 73, with 40 seats for party representatives and eight for sectoral representatives.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law has provided for an 80-seat regional parliament.

If the seven seats are not reapportioned, Sumalipao said the BEO could still proceed with the first regional parliamentary elections in 2025.

“If there’s no law resetting the number of district representatives, despite the extension of filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for BARMM parliament candidates to November, we may leave the seven seats vacant,” Sumalipao said.

More representation

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia said the poll body had ruled out postponing the regional elections, a sentiment shared by the BARMM leadership.

During the budget deliberation in the Senate on Thursday, Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros asked Garcia if there was a way that the 63 villages organized into eight towns that comprise the BARMM’s Special Geographic Area (SGA) could be represented more in the Bangsamoro Parliament, now that the seven parliamentary district seats of Sulu were up for reallocation.

In response, Garcia said the Comelec “supports” the initiative but would await action from the Bangsamoro Parliament.

“If the BTA (Bangsamoro Transition Authority) really has the intention to redistribute the seven district representative seats of Sulu, then it should enact an act for it. We can easily adjust to it because we also believe that they (SGA) are also entitled to [more] representation,” Garcia said.

Apart from the seven seats for Sulu, BAA 58 also allocated eight for Lanao del Sur, four each for Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, three each for Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, two for Cotabato City and one for the SGA, which has a population of over 200,000.

“If the BTA believes that it should fill the 80 seats of the Bangsamoro Parliament, then so be it. But that will not prevent the Comelec from proceeding with the elections next year, in the meantime that there is no redistricting [legislation passed],” Garcia said.

After the SC ruling, a BTA resolution was filed on Sept. 11 urging both the Comelec and Congress to reschedule the 2025 parliamentary elections “to allow ample time to amend the regional law creating parliamentary districts and apportion the seven district representatives from the province of Sulu to the remaining territories of the BARMM.” The resolution has yet to be approved.

Transition fund

The redistribution of Sulu’s parliamentary district seats is only one among the issues which arose from the SC ruling.

Last week, Garcia said the 16 Bangsamoro political parties with pending accreditation before the Comelec were having problems complying with the requirement to have at least 10,000 members, as those from Sulu would be excluded from the count.

The Comelec had moved the COC filing for BARMM district representatives to Nov. 4 to Nov. 9, from the original Oct. 1 to Oct. 8 that coincided with the filing of national and local candidates for the 2025 midterm polls.

Also during the budget deliberation, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino urged government agencies to create a Sulu transition fund to prevent disruptions in the delivery of vital services in the province after it was separated from the BARMM.

“Perhaps all of you are aware of the SC decision … perhaps create a Sulu transition fund, at least for the major agencies or departments,” Tolentino told representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday as he presided over the hearing on the proposed P281.32-billion budget of the DILG for 2025.

“How all of you can contribute, carve out something from your budget allocation for a Sulu fund. It’s small but when you put it all together, it will be a big help,” he added.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said the DILG has started coordinating with the BARMM’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Government on the possibility of maintaining a status quo.

“But of course, they said that because of the decision, there might be some problems with the Commission on Audit ruling, which we also understand,” Abalos said.

Carlos Castro, acting director of the DBM’s Budget and Management Bureau, said: “As of now, the DBM is currently finalizing comments on the budgetary issues and concerns on the exclusion of the province of Sulu from BARMM. These comments include funding mechanisms for Sulu, provisions for salaries, government assistance and other related matters. Also, the potential consideration of the transition fund for Sulu.”

Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman estimated that there are about 7,000 workers in various BARMM ministries that are based in Sulu, performing a host of social services delivery functions. —WITH A REPORT FROM TINA SANTOS