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COTABATO CITY — In preparation for the conduct of the May 12, 2025, National and Local Elections (NLE) and the 1st BARMM Parliamentary Elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) BARMM conducted a Regional Coordinating Conference aimed at ensuring the effective planning, coordination, and implementation of the electoral activities and security operations in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
BARMM stands for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). One of the BARMM’s 15 primary ministries is the Ministery of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) headed by Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal.
The Comelec-BARMM, through its Provincial Election Supervisors (PES) in the Bangsamoro provinces and the Special Geographic Area (SGA), sought clarification on determining the most senior MBHTE officials in the municipalities, cities, and provinces of the Bangsamoro Region given its distinct structure and governance as opposed to the then Department of Education-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM).
With one centralized Human Resource Management Division (HRMD) under the supervision of the Director of Administrative and Finance Office, the MBHTE has the custody of the Plantilla of all personnel in the Ministry.
It has removed the District Supervisors as part of its Organizational Structure and maintains the policy of non-issuance of appointments to Substitute Teachers. Hence, only the MBHTE Main Office has the authority and capacity to certify the most senior officials in the respective areas under its jurisdiction.
Moreover, the Ministry has been implementing the MBHTE Administrative Support System (ASS) to modernize the processing of relevant data and has included the data on Public School Teachers who are qualified, willing, and available to serve as Electoral Board (EB) Members for the Midterm Elections.
The MBHTE Main Office commits to submitting both the List of Most Senior MBHTE Officials in every City, Municipality, and Province and the List of Public School Teachers who are Qualified, Willing, and Available to serve as Members of EB for the 2025 Midterm Elections in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
Established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the Bangsamoro region is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)