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DAVAO CITY, August 21, 2025 (SDN) — It seems speculations are still rife on whether the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro region will proceed, or not.

But there should not be any doubts to the polls conduct as scheduled, as clarified today by Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Member of the Parliament (MP) Naguib G. Sinarimbo in a message to SDN – SciTech and Digital News.

A former head as the then-minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), one of the 15 primary ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), he is a lawyer who was one of the vital cogs in the two Bangsamoro peace processes. Meaning, negotiations between the Philippine Government (GPH) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Definitely, he knows what he is talking about.

“It removes all doubts about the holding of the October 13 elections,” Sinarimbo tells SDN in an exchange of messages on social media.

By “it”, he is referring to BTA Bill No. 351 which the Parliament on August 19 enacted on its third and final reading.

No need for “refiling” of COCs, per MP Sinarimbo

It is “Act that reapportioned the remaining 7 Parliamentary Districts originally allocated to Sulu. This bill is the principal reason for resetting the Parliamentary elections in the BARMM to October 13, 2025. So, we have fulfilled our mandate,” Sinarimbo emphasizes in his post on his social media page.

At the same time, he thanked MP Sittie Farhanie Uy-Oyod for ably steering the BTA’s Committee on Amendments, Revision, and Codification of Laws. Sinarimbo is chair of the Committee on Local Governments.

BTA Bill No. 351 was authored by the Government of the Day, it was referred to the committees of Sinarimbo and Uy-Oyod.

The Parliament enacted the bill after BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua certified it as urgent. Once signed by the chief minister, the law will be published and makes it official.

BTA Bill No. 351 is officially titled “An Act Reconstituting the Parliamentary Districts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, Amending, for the Purpose Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 58, entitled “An Act Providing the Creation of the Parliamentary Districts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”

In news report seen on Inquirer.net, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia said the poll body suspended the printing of ballots on Wednesday, August 20, for the parliamentary polls “until further notice”. The ballots supposed to be printed but now suspended were for the provinces of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi and the Special Geographic Area (SGA) which has eight new BARMM municipalities.

He said that because of the passage of the BTA Bill No. 351, the Comelec will study further the bill’s implications. The Comelec chief wondered about a need for filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) owing to the seven districts’ redistribution.

“Again, what is important is it will push through, with its 73 or 80 seats, our fellow Filipinos should expect to go to their voting precincts on Oct. 13,” Inquirer.net quoted Garcia as saying.

But the bill, said Sinarimbo, did not call for “refiling” of COCs.

“The law provides that there is no need to refile COCs as candidates as those who have already filed their COCs will be considered candidates for the district where they filed even if the redistricting may have affected the configuration or clustering of barangays or municipalities of their district,” he points out.

If “potential vacancies” emerge created because of the new districts, Sinarimbo says the law authorizes the President (presently Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.) to exercise his power to appoint.

“The law also puts to rest the issue of what is what is the base number for determining the 50 percent of the members who will be political party nominees in the Parliament as well as the 10 percent sectoral or reserved seats.

“So, the base for the percentage is now clearly 80 and not the reduced number of 73 seats for the 50 percent and 10 percent party representatives and 10 percent sectoral seats, respectively,” Sinarimbo explains further.

He calls on everyone to read BTA Bill No. 351 first to avoid any speculations. Once signed by Chief Minister Macacua, Sinarimbo says the law “will take effect immediately”.

Recall that the Supreme Court in a ruling on September 9, 2024, cut the province of Sulu’s political umbilical cord from the Bangsamoro family, thus abandoning in the process its seven allocated district seats. The High Court also later doubled down on its ruling, making if final and immediately executory.

The BARMM parliament had to work double time to reallocate the orphaned district seats, and after working hard the Parliament finally enacted BTA Bill No. 351 which now awaits the signatures of BTA Speaker Ali Pangalian Balindong, then Chief Minister Macacua. (@)

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