“We did not expect that to happen. On various occasions, the Chief Minister and President Marcos have discussed that. The President said that we will go for elections, and the reason he cited is very important. ‘Your legitimacy as a member of parliament is enhanced because you are directly elected by the people.”
— UBJP Executive Vice President Mohagher M. Iqbal tells Rappler
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(SDN) — Bangsamoro Chief Minister Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim has formally asked the Senate to push the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) through next year.
On November 11, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al-Haj Murad” Ebrahim submitted to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero Resolution No. 002 issued by the Central Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF-CC) calling for holding the inaugural BPE. MILF leaders do not want the regional elections to be reset further.
The BPE will be synchronized with the National and Local Elections (NLE) on May 12, 2025, but the Senate and the House of Representatives wanted to reset the parliamentary polls to May 11, 2026.
Earlier, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BPE), which runs the BARMM government came up with a Resolution No. 641 asking Congress to extend for the second time the transition period to 2028.
The three-year transition period was supposed to end in 2022 before it was extended during the then President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration. When he assumed the presidency, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. then reappointed Ebrahim as chief minister as well as MILF- and government-endorsed Members of Parliament (MPs) with some new faces.
In response, apparently to the Parliament’s request, Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez and filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 2862 and House Bill (HB) No. 11034, respectively, both for resetting the BPE in 2026.
The MILF resolution states:
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the MILF Central Committee (CC) hereby earnestly appeal(s) for the 2025 parliamentary elections in the BARMM to proceed as scheduled, consistent with the call of His Excellency President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in numerous speeches referring to elections in the region,” the MILF CC says in its Resolution No. oo2, Series of 2024, dated 09 November. (Underscoring supplied)
Apparently, the MILF as gleaned from the resolution is not totally averse to resetting the regional polls, but the “consequences of such resetting must honor the objectives and spirit of the CAB and BOL — one of which is that the MILF shall lead the (BTA), without prejudice to the participation of the MNLF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front).”
Of course, CAB is the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the Philippine Government and the MILF, while BOL is the 2018 Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the CAB.
In a related development, BARMM Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal in an interview with Rappler’s Carmela Fonbuena in Cotabato City on November 6, emphasized that pushing on the parliamentary elections hold “more advantage for us.”
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) held the filing of nominees and Certificates of Candidacy (COC) on November 4 to 9 for the 73 seats at stake in the Parliament.
Iqbal sees UBJP winning 70 percent of parliamentary seats
Iqbal, executive vice president of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), said he was surprised that Escudero filed SB No. 2862. UBJP is the political arm of the MILF, which on November 23 shifted to a social movement.
“We did not expect that to happen. On various occasions, the Chief Minister and President Marcos have discussed that. The President said that we will go for elections, and the reason he cited is very important. ‘Your legitimacy as a member of parliament is enhanced because you are directly elected by the people,” Iqbal tells Rappler.
He expressed confidence of the UBJP’s chances in the 2025 regional polls.
“All systems go. We do not understand the reason why all of a sudden there was a move in Congress to postpone the elections in the BARMM,” the chief negotiator of the MILF points out.
He seemed to indicate that between being elected and appointed, the MILF preferred the former because it bestows “more legitimacy” than the latter which where the “authority is less.”
Iqbal is confident of the UBJP winning 70 percent of the 73 parliamentary seats (formerly 80 when Sulu was still a member of BARMM).
The BTA, Escudero, and Romualdez cited in their desire to the postpone the regional elections on the need to resolve issues pertaining to the Supreme Court’s ruling cutting Sulu from the umbilical cord of the Bangsamoro family.
On the other hand, Member of Parliament (MP) Suharto Ambolodto agreed with the calls for the postponement, citing as well the Sulu issues.
“I strongly support the decision to reset the BARMM parliamentary elections to 2026,” said Ambolodto, a lawyer. “The Supreme Court’s ruling on the exclusion of Sulu introduces critical legal and administrative challenges. Given the complexity of these issues, additional time is needed to ensure a fair and transparent election process.” (✓)