Bangsamoro Leaders Divided Over Sulu Exclusion; COMELEC Commits to Holding 2025 Parliamentary Elections

Local officials and leaders in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are divided following a landmark Supreme Court (SC) decision to exclude the province of Sulu from the autonomous region. Despite legal concerns over whether the region’s 2025 Parliamentary Elections will continue as scheduled, the Commission on Elections maintained that the Parliamentary Elections in the BARMM will push through in May next year.  

The Decision 

The SC ruled in partial favor of the Sulu local government, which filed a petition in 2018 against the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and Sulu’s inclusion in the proposed creation of the BARMM. Former Sulu governor Abdusakur Tan II, the son of incumbent Sulu Governor Abdusakur “Sakur” Tan, argued in the province’s petition that including Sulu in the BARMM “erases their identities” and their autonomy as a separate people group. For reference, the creation of the BARMM was intended to unify the 13 Islamized ethnolinguistic groups of Mindanao, forming a unit indigenously referred to as Bangsamoro (“country of the Moro”).  

Sulu went on to reject the ratification of the BOL during the 2019 regional plebiscite. But according to plebiscite rules outlined in the BOL, the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was to be considered one political unit in terms of votes. This meant that votes were counted as a whole and not broken down per local government unit. The majority of the ARMM voted to ratify the BOL, and because Sulu was already part of the ARMM, it was therefore included in the BARMM. 

Five years later, the SC affirmed the constitutionality of the BOL but ruled that Sulu’s inclusion in the BARMM was unconstitutional. The SC agreed with the Sulu government’s argument that according to Section 18, Article 10 of the Philippine Constitution, “only provinces, cities, and geographic areas voting favorably in such plebiscite shall be included in the autonomous region.”  

Unity Versus Autonomy

The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the ruling government in the BARMM, welcomed the SC’s affirmation of the BOL’s constitutionality but was lukewarm at best towards the decision on Sulu. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leader and BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim stated that his government “will carefully study the Supreme Court’s decision on Sulu’s exclusion with the commitment to explore all avenues to hold fast to the dream of a united Bangsamoro,” suggesting that the regional government will likely appeal the ruling in the future. 

Meanwhile, Lanao del Sur 1^st District Representative Zia Alonto and former BARMM local government minister Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo questioned the SC’s interpretation of the Constitutional provision cited in the petition. Both argued that during the plebiscite, Sulu was not voting for their inclusion in the BARMM, but only on whether the BOL should be ratified or not. Only areas outside of the ARMM at the time were asked about whether they wanted their cities and towns to become part of the BARMM. 

Bangsamoro Parliament Deputy Speaker Omar Yasser Sema added that the SC had always considered the former ARMM as a singular local government unit in its other decisions, therefore “the determination of consent to change from ARMM to BARMM should be based on the entirety of the ARMM as a whole and not per component province.” 

But Sulu Governor Sakur Tan said the province “felt exalted as we feel we are free now.” His camp had argued that their rights were trampled on when they were still included in the BARMM despite their no-vote in the plebiscite, and that their inclusion in the BARMM erased centuries of history tied to Sulu’s traditional sultanates, which Governor Tan formerly represents. 

And despite effectively losing his eligibility as the opposition bet for BARMM Chief Minister, Governor Tan remained welcoming of the SC’s ruling. “To become Chief Minister is very temporary… one term for three years or two terms for six years. But what’s more important is the welfare of Sulu, to open [it] for bigger opportunities to grow, protect and enrich its economy.” 

Elections To Push Through

Sulu’s exclusion from the BARMM has raised concerns among BARMM leaders over the feasibility of the 2025 Parliamentary Elections scheduled in the region. Atty. Sinarimbo and Bangsamoro Parliament member Laisa Alamia both noted that the removal of Sulu might render existing regional electoral codes invalid. Specifically, there are concerns over what will happen to the seven district seats originally apportioned to Sulu in the Bangsamoro Parliament, especially as the current Parliament only has 46 session days left to make any necessary amendments to relevant legislation. 

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) stated that the Parliamentary Elections will go on as scheduled, however, as it will take an act of Congress to extend the BARMM’s transition period and reset the scheduled elections. Comelec Commissioner George Garcia stated that the Commission En Banc “will proceed with the scheduled elections in the Bangsamoro in compliance with our commitment to the peace process and, at the same time, with what is stated in the Organic Law, which the Court affirmed as constitutional.” The Comelec is also planning to return the regional jurisdiction of Sulu to Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), where it belonged prior to the creation of the former ARMM in 1989, in time for the 2025 Midterm Elections. 

With regards to Sulu’s district seats, Commissioner Garcia stated that they simply plan to subtract these seats from the original 80 seats in the Bangsamoro Parliament, leaving 73 sectoral and district seats up for election in 2025. “So long as all the provinces in the current Bangsamoro minus Sulu are properly represented by their delegates, in our view, that would be enough,” Commissioner Garcia said.