EXPLAINER: How BARMM Is Governed Differently From the Rest of the Philippines

(SPOT.ph) On September 14, residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) headed to the polls for something no other region in the Philippines does: electing a parliament. Votes are now being counted as the region’s first elected Parliament begins to take shape.

The historic vote was a long time coming for BARMM’s 2.39 million voters. Originally scheduled for May 2022 alongside the national elections, the polls were postponed four times: first because of pandemic-related delays, then by legal battles over Sulu’s exclusion from BARMM and how the region’s parliamentary districts were drawn.

But why does BARMM have its own Parliament in the first place? And how does its government work differently from the national and local governments the rest of us are used to?

Also read: Senate Approves Postponement of Bangsamoro Elections to May 2025

The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), passed in 2018, established an 80-member parliamentary government in the region. BARMM is the only region in the Philippines with this kind of government.

Here’s the biggest difference: At the national level, Filipinos elect a President separately from the people they send to Congress. In BARMM, voters elect members of Parliament, and Parliament then chooses the Chief Minister who runs the regional government.

The resulting 80 members form the Parliament, which will make laws within BARMM’s authority. Of the 80 parliamentary seats, 78 were decided through the September 14 election, as two Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIPs) were already chosen as members. Regional party representatives will hold 40 seats, and district representatives will hold 32. The remaining eight seats are for sectoral representatives, including women, youth, Muslim scholars, settler communities, and NMIPs.

During the election, voters made eight choices: one regional political party, one district representative, and six sectoral representatives. The new Parliament will elect a Chief Minister from among its members, replacing the directly elected Regional Governor system that was used under the old ARMM. The Chief Minister can then appoint a cabinet of ministers who will help implement BARMM’s programs.

During the transition period, the interim Chief Minister is appointed by the Philippine President. Abdulraof Macacua remains interim Chief Minister until the transition to the first elected Parliament.

The parliamentary setup is part of BARMM’s push for greater self-governance, the result of a decades-long struggle between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that led to the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and, eventually, the BOL.

“Our votes may be different but we share one desire to make them the key to our future. Whatever the outcome of the election, we will continue to work together in building the Bangsamoro,” Macacua said in a video message on the eve of election day.

The United Nations in the Philippines described the elections as “an important milestone in the Bangsamoro peace process and the region’s political transition.” Observers have also described the vote as a major test of whether the gains of the peace process can translate into a stable, elected government.

“The peace process began in 1968. This is the fruition of that process from 1968 to the [1976] Tripoli Agreement, to now, we have BARMM and we will have an elected parliament,” President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said in August.

The first elected BARMM officials will serve a special first term from October 30, 2026 to June 30, 2031. After that, parliamentary officials will generally serve three-year terms.

As an autonomous region, the BOL allows the BARMM government to enact laws on health, education, indigenous peoples’ rights, ancestral domain and natural resources, and other regional matters. It can also declare official holidays, call for referendums, and pass its own regional budget.

However, since the region remains under the Philippine Constitution and sovereignty, the national government handles foreign affairs, national defense, and national security matters.

“The BARMM’s autonomy is limited to its internal governance. The fact that it was granted greater autonomy compared to other territorial and political subdivisions does not imply separation from the national government,” reads a 2024 Supreme Court ruling on the BOL’s legal basis.

The Bangsamoro government also receives funding from the national government through an annual block grant allocated in the national budget.

The September 14 election was held separately from the country’s usual May polls, but that won’t always be the case. Succeeding BARMM parliamentary elections will be held on the second Monday of May 2031 and every three years after that, putting them on the same schedule as the national and local elections of the Philippines.

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