BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua, Basilan Gov. Mujiv Hataman, Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Datu Tucao Mastura, Maguindanao del Sur Datu Ali Midtimbang, and Tawi-Tawi Gov. Yshmael “Maang” Sali expected at the BTA Parliament public hearing
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MANILA (SDN) — In September 2024 the Supreme Court cut the umbilical cord of the province of Sulu from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) family.
Before the unexpected ruling of the High Tribunal Sulu was included in the BARMM, being one of the component areas of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), along with Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao (now Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur) and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
The plebiscites in January and February in 2019 later expanded the BARMM with the addition of the Special Geographic Area (SGA) now made up of eight new municipalities carved out of the province of North Cotabato.
Sulu had seven seats in the novel parliament, with the seats totalling 80 (41 endorsed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — MILF — and 39 for the national government side).
Now, the parliament only has 73 seats, prompting the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to find out whether to apportion the seven seats and in what manner.
Recall that the 2018 Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) established the BARMM in January 2019, which the Supreme Court found constitutional in that fateful ruling last year while cutting off Sulu’s membership in the BARMM.
As the first parliamentary elections in the region approach on October 13, the BTA parliament is tackling a bill aimed at re-districting the Sulu seats and include them in the forthcoming regular parliament in a way acceptable to the Bangsamoro majority, not the less the political leaders who will be attending the public hearing today, Thursday, July 3, at the Marco Polo Hotel, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Metro Manila.
Members of the Parliament (MPs) lawyers Naguib G. Sinarimbo, Rasul Mitmug, Jr., Zuldikar-Ali “Sol” Bayam confirmed to SDN — SciTech & Digital News in separate messages about today’s hearing.
Sinarimbo, one of the new MPs that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. appointed for remaining transition phase of the BTA, chairs the regional Committee on Local Government. He is expected to preside over the hearing.
Earlier, he told SDN that the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) group chaired by BARMM Labor Minister Muslimen G. Sema was opposed to the re-districting of the seven seats.
Sinarimbo, former minister of the BARMM Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), said the reason the group gave was that Sulu may want to rejoin the BARMM later in the future.
Precisely, it appears the MPs are holding a public hearing in Metro Manila to hear comments, reactions from interim BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua, and the region’s five provincial governors.
Mitmug, a veteran of the parliament, said governors of Basilan, Mujiv Hataman; Lanao del Sur, Mamintal Adiong; Maguindanao del Norte, Datu Tucao Mastura; Maguindanao del Sur, Datu Ali Midtimbang; and Tawi-Tawi, Yshmael “Maang” Sali were invited to the public hearing.
He said the hearing will focus first on the local government executives, before other resource persons are to be consulted later.
Mitmug is parliament deputy floor leader and chair of the powerful Blue Ribbon Committee. He comes with wide experience, having been one of the pioneer MPs in the BTA Parliament when it first operated in 2019.
The BOL was enacted to implement the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) the Philippine government and the MILF signed on March 27, 2014, which is the key for the attainment of peace and stability in Central Mindanao in particular, and the country in general.
On September 23, 2024, the MILF as announced by Peace Implementing Panel (PIP) Chair Mohagher Iqbal formally shifted into a social movement, abandoning its armed struggle for the right to self determination of the Bangsamoro people, the Muslims in the Philippines.
Iqbal made the announcement during the two-day MILF Consultative Meeting and General Assembly in Camp Darapanan, Crossing Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte. — EDD K. Usman (√)