MindaNews fact-checked a news item posted on May 19 on the Facebook page of Bandera News TV-Cotabato/Radyo Bandera Cotabato, which stated that Sulu Governor Sakur Tan has been endorsed by the BARMM Grand Coalition to run for Chief Minister in the 2025 regional elections. The report is false and misleading.
BARMM stands for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which is composed of the provices of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi and Lamitan.
The news item said: “Isinusulong ng BARMM Grand Coalition o BGC si Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan bilang susunod na Chief Minister sa darating na halalan para sa Bangsamoro Parliament sa Mayo 2025 (The BARMM Grand Coalition is pushing for Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan as the next Chief Minister in the coming elections for the Bangsamoro Parliament in 2025).”
This is false and misleading because voters won’t directly vote for the Chief Minister. It is the members of the Bangsamoro Parliament who will elect from among themselves the Chief Minister, the practice observed by parliaments the world over.
Bandera News TV-Cotabato/Radyo Bandera Cotabato’s Facebook post generated 757 reactions, 564 comments and 116 shares as of 8:40 a.m. on Monday, June 3.
The BGC is an alliance of regional political parties affiliated with traditional politicians based in Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Sulu.
Under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code approved by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) in March 2023, the parliament shall be composed of 80 members, with 40 seats allocated for regional political parties, 32 single-member parliamentary districts and eight sectoral representatives.
The 80-member BTA acts as the interim government of the BARMM government.
The BTA’s term was supposed to end in 2022, but Congress passed Republic Act 11593 on October 28, 2021, postponing the first regional elections to May 2025, in effect, extending the transition period to next year.
The Bangsamoro region was created in January 2019 following the plebiscite that ratified Republic Act 11054, also called the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
The creation of the Bangsamoro region is the key component of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed in 2014 after 17 years of peace negotiations.
The MILF is leading the 80-member Bangsamoro transition government, with 41 seats while the rest is held by government nominees.
The front had announced it will join the Bangsamoro parliamentary election through its political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
