DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /24 February) — A group monitoring the conduct of the 1st Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) is recommending the immediate resolution of five key issues before the October 13 polls, among them the reallocation of the seven single-district seats originally intended for Sulu and ensuring the ballot complies with the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, particularly on the photographs of candidates and logos of regional political parties and the “None Of The Above” (NOTA) option.
The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) in a statement issued Sunday, noted that the five-month postponement is more reasonable than the earlier Congress-proposed year-long delay but reiterates its opposition to postponing the May 2025 BPE, as it maintains that none of the five reasons cited by Congress presents an “urgent, substantial, or compelling basis” to postpone the exercise of the fundamental right of suffrage.
The postponement from May 12 to October 13, 2025 is now final with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signing last Wednesday Republic Act 12123.
The seat of power of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in Cotabato City. MindaNews file photo by GREGORIO BUENO
Voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are to elect 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament – 40 party representatives, 32 single district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.
Before the postponement, the Commission on Elections chair, George Garcia had said the BARMM polls can proceed as earlier scheduled in May 25 district seats will be voted upon as the seven seats were initially allocated for Sulu.
The eight sectoral seats are to be represented by two from Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples, two from settler communities, and one each for women, youth, Ulama, and traditional leaders.
For the 2025 Parliamentary Elections, each of the sectoral representatives shall be elected by each sector during an assembly called by accredited and registered sectoral organizations through their respective ministries.
But in the 2028 Parliamentary elections, the sectoral representatives will be elected by the registered voters who identify to be part of their sectors.
Practical solutions
LENTE said that before the October polls, priority must be given to the implementation of “practical solutions that effectively address these concerns while safeguarding the democratic process.”
On the seven single district seats originally intended for Sulu, LENTE said the BTA “must immediately amend” Bangsamoro Autonomy Act 58 or the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2024, to “distribute the seven seats originally allocated for Sulu” and to ensure that the amendment process is “consultative, inclusive, and transparent through the public consultations that will be conducted.”
“Our recommendation is that the amendment of BAA 58 – designed to eliminate partisan bias – be completed well ahead of the May elections,” Atty. Ona Caritos, LENTE Executive Director, told MindaNews on Sunday.
The BTA Parliament has adjourned and will resume sessions in April.
Caritos said the BTA “should start discusssion when they resume.”
LENTE also urges Comelec to “ensure BARMM ballot complies with the Bangsamoro Electoral Code.”
The Code provides that official ballots “shall include, aside from the name of all candidates, each candidate’s photo/logo and a “None Of The Above” (NOTA) option.
LENTE said the law provides that the ballot features party logos and candidate’s photos “to ease voting for vulnerable voters” while the NOTA option is “to empower voters to express disapproval of all candidates.”
The Comelec’s ballot face templates for the BARMM parliamentary polls, posted on its website on January 26, does not feature photos of the candidates or logos of the RPPPs.
The law mandates the Comelec, through the Bangsamoro Electoral Office (BEO), to “take efforts to ensure that the Bangsamoro people are aware of all candidates running for elections in BARMM.”
If the BARMM elections had pushed through as scheduled in May 2025, BARMM voters would have been given two ballots – one for the national and local candidates and the second for the BARMM.
Voter education roadmap
LENTE also wants Comelec to “re-open the application process to ensure that regional political parties and sectoral organizations can participate meaningfully in the electoral process.” Appropriate certifying ministry, regional agency, or office within the Bangsamoro government should likewise re-open their certification processes for sectoral organizations, LENTE said.
LENTE also reminded Regional Parliamentary Political Parties (RPPPs) that one of the mandatory party activities is a voter education program and that they should collaborate with the BEO and other stakeholders for the conduct of voter education in communities, schools and institutions.
It also noted that the Comelec, through the education and information department and the BEO “must issue a detailed voter education roadmap well in advance of the new election date in collaboration with political parties, civil society organizations, and other institutions.”
LENTE also recommends that guidelines for assemblies of sectoral organizations “should be issued promptly to facilitate free and meaningful participation, protect marginalized groups, and reinforce transparency and accountability in the political process.”
Caritos said the guidelines for sectoral assemblies “are being fast-tracked with several already in the final stages this month.”
“We hope that it will be out as soon as possible,” she said.
Oath-taking on October 30
Congress cited as reasons for postponement the adjustments following the Supreme Court decision in September 2024 that Sulu is not part of the BARMM; extended preparation time for the Comelec and the BTA; the compromised delay by a few months with BTA members on holdover capacity instead of the earlier proposed year-long delay and the appointment of a new set of BTA members; security concerns; and the creation of a new province for the Special Geographic Area (SGA) previously part of North Cotabato.
“Although these issues require careful consideration and proactive measures, none presents an urgent, substantial, or compelling basis to postpone the exercise of the fundamental right of suffrage,” LENTE said.
RA 11054 is the enabling law of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the peace agreement signed by the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on March 27, 2024.
The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision in September 2024 ruled that the law is constitutional but for the provision on the core territory of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao voting as one component area.
Of the five ARMM provinces then (Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur), Sulu voted no against the ratification of the law in 2019.
As provided by the peace agreement and RA 11054, the BARMM would be governed by the 80-member, MILF-led BTA during the three-year transition period or until June 30, 2022, when the first set of officials elected in May that year, would take over.
The May 2022 parliamentary polls, however, was reset to May 2025, effectively extending the transition period until June 30, 2025.
RA 12123 provides that the election be held on October 13, 2025 and the first elected officials are to take their oath on October 30, 2025.
Synchronized by 2028
The next election, “shall be held and synchronized with the 2028 national elections and every three years thereafter.”
RA 12123 also provides that the October polls “shall not be treated as a special election and shall be considered a continuation of the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE)” and that any amount obligated prior to the resetting of the Bangsamoro Election shall remain valid.
The law states that those who filed their certificates of candidacy for district representatives and nominees for party representatives listed in the November 2024 certificates of nomination and acceptance in their manifestations of intent to participate in the elections “shall be automatically considered as candidates and nominees” in the October polls.
According to the law, “new filings for certificates of candidacy or for manifestations of intent to participate with a list of nominees shall not be entertained.”
But the law mandates the Comelec to “issue appropriate guidelines on the filing of candidacies, in case the seats originally allocated to the province of Sulu are re-apportioned by the Bangsamoro Parliament.”
The law prohibits substitution of candidates and nominees “except in cases of death or disqualification.”
RA 12123 effectively extended the BTA’s term for another four months – from June 30 to October 30, 2025.
Within that extended period, the BTA continues as the interim government of the BARMM, “unless such interim members are replaced by the President or their tenure is shortened by their election to a different office.”
The BTA members “shall serve until their successors shall have been elected and qualified in an automated election.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
