BARMM approves bill reallocating Sulu seats

Bangsamoro Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua on Thursday signed into law a proposed measure reallocating the seven parliamentary districts initially assigned to the province of Sulu.

Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 77 or the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Act of 2025 amended BAA No. 58 and redistricted the vacant seats in light of a Supreme Court (SC) decision excluding Sulu from the autonomous region.

Under the law, the 32 single-member parliamentary districts in the region were now reapportioned as follows:

• 9 parliamentary districts for Lanao del Sur
• 5 for Maguindanao del Norte
• 5 for Maguindanao del Sur
• 4 for Basilan
• 4 for Tawi-Tawi
• 3 for Cotabato City
• 32 for the Special Geographic Area (SAG)

The newly passed law mandated the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to issue appropriate guidelines for the implementation of the redistricting for the 2025 Bangsamoro elections in October. 

It also stated that aspirants who have filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the BARMM polls will “retain their candidacy in the district where they originally filed, notwithstanding that their barangay or municipality where they are registered has been reassigned to a different district.”

“Provided, that the voting will only take place within the boundaries of the district as defined by this new redistricting law,” it said. 

Further, the legislation authorizes the president to appoint an interim parliamentary district representative should a new district be created after the deadline of the filing of COCs for the first-ever parliamentary polls following the passage of the law.  

“The interim appointee shall have the same rights, duties, and privileges as an elected District Representative, but the term shall automatically end upon the assumption into office of the duly elected representative of the district following the next regular or special elections,” it added. 

The Congress is likewise authorized to reallocate the seven parliamentary districts to Sulu should the province rejoin the autonomous region.

2025 BARMM Polls

The Comelec, for its part, said it will have issues in adding the reallocated parliamentary districts to the 2025 Bangsamoro polls.

“Humihingi kami ng dispensa… mukhang hindi namin maipapatupad ang kapipirma lamang na batas,” poll chief George Erwin Garcia told reporters in a media briefing. 

(We apologize, but we may not be able to implement the newly signed law.)

“Alam namin na maku-kwestyon kami sa Korte Suprema sa action na ito, but we are also writing a letter to the President, Senate President, House Speaker and Chief Justice informing them of the timelines of the Comelec without influencing their action,” he said.

(We are aware our actions may be questioned before the SC, but we are writing to the President, Senate President, House Speaker, and Chief Justice, informing them of the timelines of the Comelec without influencing their action.)

Last week, the poll body temporarily halted the ballot printing for the BARMM elections to assess the impact of the law on its preparations.

Garcia said an estimated timeline showed the deployment of the election paraphernalia to the region may likely be completed by October 20, lagging behind the schedule of the polls on October 13. 

With this, the Comelec en banc decided to proceed with the preparations for the parliamentary polls with 73 seats. It also ordered the resumption of the printing process by Thursday, August 28, with their target completion of the printing and verification by September 15. 

“Wala kaming material time…In fairness sa Comelec, tumigil kami ng printing last week and preparations just to wait baka naman hindi maapektuhan ang aming timeline dito sa gagawin nilang batas,” he added. 

(We do not have material time. In fairness to the Comelec, we suspended the printing and preparations last week to wait to see if the law will not affect our timeline.)

The Bangsamoro polls was reset from May 12 to October 13, 2025 after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.  in February signed into law the measure postponing the first-ever parliamentary elections. 

The suspension came months after the Supreme Court (SC), in September 2024, upheld the validity of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but declared that Sulu was not part of Bangsamoro Region. The Court denied motions seeking the reversal of the decision in November 2024. —VAL, GMA Integrated News