DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 08 October) — The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) may not be able to pass a new districting law by October 30, 2025 as directed by the Supreme Court in its September 30 ruling declaring Bangsamoro Autonomy Acts (BAA) 77 and 58 unconstitutional, Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua said.
“Some of the leaders in BTA are saying that hindi daw kaya sa October 30” (it’s not possible to pass it by October 30), Macacua told MindaNews on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court announced its September 30 ruling on October 1, 13 days before what was supposed to be the 1stBangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) on October 13, but copies of the decision were posted on its website only on October 6. Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda was the ponente.
By a vote of 14 (Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo was on official leave), the Supreme Court unanimously declared as unconstitutional BAA 77 (Bangsamoro Parliamentary Redistricting Act of 2025) while BAA 58 (Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2024) was struck down as unconstitutional by a vote of 11-3, with Acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justices Henri Jean Paul Inting and Antonio Kho dissenting.
Voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are supposed to elect 80 Members of Parliament — 40 political party representatives, 32 single-district representatives and eight sectoral representatives. The new districting law will be the basis for the election of district representatives.
The Court said the BTA should enact “by October 30, 2025 a districting law that faithfully complies with constitutional and national law requirements,” urged Congress to “promptly enact a law that would reschedule the BARMM Parliamentary Elections … as much as practicable, not later than March 31, 2026 to ensure adequate preparations for the latter” and because there is another election scheduled next year, on November 2, 2026, for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan.
The Supreme Court also reiterated that “from the finality of this decision, the BTA shall immediately undertake, by October 30, 2025 at the latest, the accomplishment of the determination of parliamentary districts for the first regular election for the members of the Parliament in strict compliance with the priorities and requirements provided in the Bangsamoro Organic Law, as well as the criteria laid down in this decision.”
It added that after the BTA’s passage of the new districting law, “and in compliance with Section 5 of the Voter’s Registration Act,” the Commission on Elections is directed to “promptly proceed with its preparations and conduct elections not later than March 31, 2026.”
There are only eight session days in October, based on the regular schedule of the Bangsamoro Parliament whose Speaker – lawyer and veteran lawmaker Ali Pangalian Balindong – passed away on October 2, a day after the Supreme Court decision dated September 30 was announced by the spokesperson.
Rule IV of Resolution 268 of the BTA Parliament states that the Deputy Speaker “most senior in age shall assume the duties and powers of the Speaker … in case of resignation, removal, death and permanent incapacity of the Speaker, until such time that a new Speaker has been elected and qualified.”
The Bangsamoro Parliament has 12 Deputy Speakers.
The Deputy Speaker most senior in age is Deputy Speaker Suwaib “Gordon Khan” Oranon, 72, Central Mindanao Front Commander of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, a member of the MILF Central Committee, and a member of the Top 300 who trained in Malaysia in the early days of the Moro National Liberation Front.
Under BTA Rules, the Chief Minister or by a resolution of the majority of the Members of the Parliament “may request the Speaker to convene the Parliament to tackle emergency situations or very important matters that need to be discussed, debated or a law passed to address the situation at hand.”
MindaNews asked if there will a special session before October 20. Macacua replied they will wait for the decision of the Committee on Rules. “If they will recommend to call for a special session, we will do it.”
Under the Rules, the Chief Minister or resolution of the majority will have to request the Speaker to convene the special session. As of October 7, however, Oranon has not assumed the post of Acting Speaker.
Macacua said there is “an ongoing consultation regarding the speakership.”
The Members of Parliament (MPs) regularly meet on the third and fourth week of the month, Mondays to Thursdays.
This month, it is supposed to meet on October 20 to 23 and 27 to 30, leaving only eight session days before the October 30 deadline.
The Court said this date ensures that the districting law will not violate Section 5 of the Voters’ Registration Act which provides that “no territory comprising an election precinct shall be altered or a new precinct be established at the start of the election period” and “splitting of an original precinct or merger of two or more original precincts shall not be allowed without redrawing the precinct map/s one hundred twenty (120) days before election day.”
Ramadan during campaign
A hundred and 20 days from October 30 is February 7. If the election is scheduled after February 7, some days of the 45-day campaign period will likely fall under Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.
Ramadan in 2026 is on February 17 to March 18.
There is no law barring election campaign during Ramadan. In predominantly Catholic Philippines, election campaign is banned not during the entire Holy Week but only on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
In Islamic countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey, election campaign is not prohibited during Ramadan but activities adjusted in such a way that rallies, for example, are held after iftar (breaking of the fast).
The first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) was supposed to have been held on May 9, 2022 but was reset to May 12, 2025, reset anew to October 13, 2025 and will be reset again to no later than March 31, 2026. By then the transition period would have been extended also thrice – from February 2019 to June 30, 2022, June 30, 2022 to June 30, 2025, June 30, 2025 to October 30, 2025 and October 30, 2025 until a still to be determined date next year.
As of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, no bill has been filed at the House of Representatives or the Senate resetting the October 13 elections.
October 30
“Kaya kung kayanin” (We can do it if we exert all efforts), Member of Parliament Mohagher Iqbal, concurrent BARMM Education Minister and chair of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, told MindaNews Wednesday morning in response to a query if the BTA can pass a new districting law by October 30.
“It’s a long shot but it’s doable,” Deputy Speaker Omar Yasser Sema told MindaNews.
For Deputy Speaker Laisa Alamia, the Supreme Court’s decision “provides crucial legal clarity, and the Bangsamoro Parliament is committed to fulfilling its mandate to enact a new districting law.”
But with the recent passing of Speaker Balindong, Alamia said, “we must first address the leadership of the Parliament before we can proceed, making the October 30 deadline extremely challenging to meet.”
She stressed that their priority is to ensure that any new legislation is the “result of a thorough and consultative process that serves the best interests of our constituents.”
MP Naguib Sinarimbo, chair of the BTA’s Committee on Local Governments, said “we have to be optimistic while being conscious of the challenges of passing a highly political piece of legislation near an election period.”
“If the BTA separates politics from its mandate as a transitional authority, it can promptly enact the districting law” by October 30, lawyer Benedicto Bacani, Executive Director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, said.
“With all necessary data available and districting bills thoroughly reviewed, the standards set by law and the recent Supreme Court decision provide clear guidance,” Bacani told MindaNews on Wednesday.
He said coordination between BTA and Comelec is key. “BTA has to be accountable in fulfilling its true mandate to build just and effective institutions like the election system in the BARMM.”
Extended transition
If the elections had pushed through, the first elected MPs would have assumed their posts at noon of October 30, according to Republic Act 12123, which was passed in February this year, rescheduling the May 12 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections to October 13.
Resetting the election to a date no later than March 31, 2025 means yet another extension of the transition period that should have ended on June 30, 2022. By March 2026, the transition period will have been seven years and one month, more than twice the three-year period originally allotted for it.
Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez said the appointed MPs “will remain until their successors shall have been elected,” citing RA 12123.
The law under Section 2 provides that during the extension of the Transition Period, the BTA shall continue as the interim government in the BARMM “unless such interim members are replaced by the President or their tenure is shortened by their election to a different office.” It also states that the interim members of the BTA “shall serve until their successors shall have been elected and qualified in an automated election.”
The Court noted that “competing political interests of various parties, regardless of the righteousness of their ideologies or advocacies, are directly contributing to the delay in the conduct of the BPE” and that this delay is an “affront to the Bangsamoro people’s right to vote.”
“The pivotal opportunity to strengthen governance in the BARMM has presented itself yet again. It is now incumbent upon all stakeholders to act promptly and responsibly, ensuring that the necessary reforms are sought without delay and with full fidelity to the foundational laws. The dignity of the Bangsamoro people deserve no less,” the Supreme Court said. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
