BARMM election in 2025

DAVAO CITY: President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. swore into office the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), vowed support to the completion of its task by June 30, 2025 as there will be no more extension of the transition period and the first election of the 80-member Bangsamoro Parliament will be held in May 2025.

“In 2025, we no longer will have any extension to the authority, and we will conduct elections,” the Presidential News Desk quoted him as saying.

“We are given another chance because of the extension of the Transition Authority. We are given another chance, but we have three years, and three years is not a long time for this rather basic and fundamental and highly important pieces of legislation that have to be produced now by the Transition Authority,” said Marcos, who reappointed Ahod “Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the interim Chief Minister.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who championed the passage of the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao graced the historic event.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Sabah revenue hits RM6.97 billion: Hajiji says GRS State Government may see full term

Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government continued its momentum in managing the economy in line with the commitment and spirit of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) when it posted record high state revenue of RM6.973 billion last year.

Marcos acknowledged the “great deal of work” that the BTA must do within the transition period which was supposed to have ended on June 30, 2022 but was extended until June 30, 2025 when Congress reset the supposed first regular election in the BARMM in May 2022 to May 2025. The first set of elected officials will take their oath of office on June 30, 2022.

The MILF-led BTA is the interim government of the five-province, three-city BARMM during the transition period, as mandated by the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the peace agreement signed by the Philippine government (GPH) and the MILF, and its enabling law, RA 11054.

The priority codes that the BTA must pass during the transition period are Administrative Code, Revenue Code, Electoral Code, Local Government Code, and Education Code. The BTA has passed the Administrative Code and Education Code. It has also passed the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code.

Marcos said they did “our absolute best” in ensuring that representation in the BTA is “as fair as possible and that is why I will be here as head of the national government to support BARMM in any way to get that settled and to make sure that we have an orderly and proper election in 2025 and upon electing our officials, that they have a framework, a legal framework to work within so that the government can actually function.”

Forty-nine members of the BTA were reappointed while 31 are new appointees nominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front’s (MNLF) Misuari and Sema-Jikiri factions.

The MILF-led BTA, now has 15 members nominated by the MNLF – eight by the Sema-Jikiri faction and seven by the Misuari faction.

In the BTA under the Duterte administration, Misuari did not nominate anyone from his group, opting instead to talk directly with his friend, President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte stepped down on June 30, 2022 without having addressed the concerns of Misuari’s MNLF, even as they met several times in Malacanang and Davao. Details of the meetings were not divulged.

The 80 members of the new BTA comprise 41 nominated by the MILF and 39 by the government (GPH).

Among the new appointees to the BTA are Misuari’s son Abdulkarim and daughter Nurredha; former Sulu Governor Benjamin Loong; former Upi mayor Ramon Piang Sr.; former ARMM Executive Secretary Randolph Parcasio, former ARMM Health Secretary Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, Jr. and BARMM’s chief of the Regional Board of Investments, lawyer Ishak Mastura.

Several MPs are children of revolutionary leaders, among them the Misuari siblings who are new appointees, and reappointed MPs Abdullah, son of MILF founding chair Salamat Hashim; Omar Yasser, son of Muslimin Sema; and Albakil, son of Yusoph Jikiri.

Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.

Daily Express Malaysia

* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.

* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00