Group backs BARMM elections in May 2025

Sulu’s pending case with the Supreme Court is not a hindrance to the first parliament elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), a coalition said on Tuesday.

The Coalition for Social Accountability and Transparency (CSAT) has called for the continuation of the BARMM elections, which is scheduled in May 2025.

Composed of 35 civil society, academic, and religious leaders in the BARMM and Zamboanga Peninsula, CSAT said the election would strengthen the “democratic foundation” of the region’s governance.

“Kung sakali wala pang decision final ang Supreme Court, ituloy pa rin (ang BARMM elections). Hindi naman po nagkakasagabal yung Sulu.” Nelson Mukarram, co-covenor of Sulu-based civil society group Kapatut Bangsa Sug, said in a press conference.

(In case the Supreme Court does not have a final decision, the BARMM elections should continue as the issue with Sulu is not a hindrance.)

On Monday, two Bangsamoro parliament members expressed support for the deferral of BARMM elections to May 2026 to allow more time to reallocate Sulu’s seats. 

However, CSAT said there are still six months to address the relocation of seats in the parliament before the BARMM polls.

“Yung kailangan sa parliamentary members, makukuha naman yung po sa ibang province, may newly created province sa South Maguindanao, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi at sa Marawi,” Mukarram said.

(The needed parliamentary members can be obtained from other provinces since there are newly created provinces in South Maguindanao, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Marawi.)

Under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, seven of the 80 parliament seats were allocated to Sulu.

However, as the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in September, it also declared that Sulu is no longer part of the region. 

Earlier this month, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero filed a bill seeking to postpone the first regular BARMM elections. 

This came after the Bangsamoro Government asked the Supreme Court to re-include the province of Sulu in the Bangsamoro Region. 

“We’re looking into the direction of participating in the hearings on the resetting of elections. Sana they continue to conduct consultations and hearings with people on the ground,” said Khuzaimah Maranda, co-convenor of Thuma Ko Kapagingud Service Organization.  

The members of the parliament shall be elected for a term of 3 years but the first regional parliamentary elections were postponed to 2025 under RA 11593 of 2021, extending the transition period from 2022 to 2025.
 
CSAT said it is time for the people of BARMM to elect their officials.

“We believe as a coalition that this matter (the issue with Sulu) should not hostage the exercise of the constitutional rights of the people to choose their leaders. At the end of the end, it will become recurring if we continue to extend and then we become more lenient on how we extend these kinds of issue,” Maranda said.

According to the Commission on Elections, 109 aspirants have filed their candidacies for district representatives for the 2025 Bangsamoro polls. —LDF, GMA Integrated News