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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News
(SDN) — Sweet and bitter. Joy and sorrow. Affirmation and negation.
It’s complicated, as one might say, what hit the four-year old Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) led by Chief Minister Ahod B. “Al-Haj Murad” Ebrahim.
It is safe to say the hierarchy of the BARMM and its people are happy yet sad over the recent Supreme Court affirmation of the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
But the decision penned by Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V,F. Leonen came with a punch in the gut: Sulu, long a part of the regional autonomy, is no more.
It is a sweet and bitter pill to swallow.
While the High Court affirmed the BOL enacted on July 27, 2018, it also ruled Sulu is not part of the BARMM as majority of its voters rejected the ratification of the new political entity’s (NPE) Charter in the January 2019 plebiscite.
In a statement released by the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM), the BARMM welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court that affirms the constitutionality of the BOL, or Republic Act No. 11054.
It was a unanimous Decision by the High Court even as it partially granted the petition challenging Sulu’s inclusion in BARMM but denied challenges to the BOL’s other aspects.
“The Decision is immediately executable,” the Supreme Court stressed.
In the Decision, it was made clear the BOL is constitutional because it did not make the BARMM a separate state from the Philippines.
“This landmark ruling validates the decades-long peace process that led to the creation of the BARMM, a region that embodies the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for self-determination and autonomy.
“The BOL is far more than just a legislative act. It is a measure that gives legal effect to the politically negotiated settlements, reflecting the agreements and compromise of various stakeholders,” Ebrahim, chair of the Central Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), emphasizes.
He also noted that the decision confirms the regional parliamentary system as a constitutionally valid framework, adding the “system is intended to enhance responsiveness to the needs and concerns of the Bangsamoro people, ensuring their voices are acknowledged and their interests are properly represented.”
BARMM government commits to painstakingly study Supreme Court decision
The BARMM’s interim chief minister voiced the sentiments of the regional government, saying although pleased with he described as “significant victories, we are deeply concerned over” the High Tribunal’s exclusion of Sulu province from the regional autonomy.
“Sulu is not only an essential component of the Bangsamoro by virtue of law but also by its deep historical and cultural ties to the Bangsamoro identity and struggle. The Bangsamoro will never be the same without Sulu and its people,” Ebrahim, president of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) of the MILF, pointed out.
The High Court noted that the majority of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), ratified the R.A. No. 11054, but rejected by Sulu.
ARMM was comprised then of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, which became the core territory of the BARMM.
The BARMM government, established by the BOL to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), has not lost hope on the situation.
Ebrahim said the regional government will carefully study the decision of the Supreme Court on the exclusion of Sulu, “with the commitment to explore all avenues to hold fast to the dream of a united Bangsamoro as well as ensure that the commitments enshrined in the (CAB) will be fully realized.”
The BARMM chief minister is counting on the shared history, struggle, and aspirations of the Bangsamoro that unity will prevail over this setback.
Established in 2018, the Bangsamoro region is now comprised of Basilan, Lanao de Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan and Marawi, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA) with eight municipalities.
Meanwhile, the BARMM’s inaugural parliamentary election has been confirmed now and then by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will push through in May 2025 for the 80 members of Parliament (MPs) from which the chief minister will be elected.
On the other hand, the Comelec has pushed back the filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) in the Bangsamoro region from October to November 4 to 9, 2024. (/)