Exclusion of province from Philippines Muslim region leaves workers in limbo

MANILA, Philippines (MNTV) – The exclusion of a province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the Philippines has left more than 5,000  workers in a limbo, reports Rappler.

In a move set in motion by the Marcos Jr. administration, the government has begun enforcing a 2024 Supreme Court (SC) ruling that excluded Sulu from BARMM. 

The province is now under Region IX or the Zamboanga Peninsula region. 

The ruling is affecting the daily lives of thousands of public servants and the communities they serve.

Their offices remain operational and their mandates are still active for now, but their future is clouded by the political and territorial shift.

For years, basic services in Sulu were funded through the BARMM block grant, a guaranteed annual allocation from the national government. Now, with the administrative transfer, that fiscal support from the BARMM no longer has a legal anchor in Sulu.

Naguib Sinarimbo, a member of the Bangsamoro parliament who once served as BARMM interior minister, said he was worried not only for the workforce, but for the people of Sulu who rely on basic services provided by BARMM.

“These services were all shouldered by BARMM and, before that, by the ARMM,” Sinarimbo said, referring to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The ARMM was the first attempt to grant political autonomy to predominantly Muslim territories in Mindanao. It was replaced in 2019 by the BARMM after the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). Sulu voted against its ratification, resulting in its exclusion from the region in late 2024.

Sinarimbo said those who campaigned and voted against the 2019 ratification of the BOL failed to grasp its fiscal implications.

Now, the Sulu provincial and municipal governments will assume responsibility for funding basic services previously financed by the Bangsamoro regional government.

“They’re not used to this setup,” Sinarimbo said.

The BARMM, using the block grant, has funded around 10 billion Philippines pesos ($174 million) worth of infrastructure projects in Sulu over the past five years, according to Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) member Don Loong.

Loong said the regional government also allocates about 1.2 billion pesos ($20.77 million) annually for health services in the province. “That’s substantial,” Loong told Rappler.

Loong, who was among those who appealed the SC ruling, said he had accepted the decision but hoped the impact on government employees would be mitigated.

“There is a perception [among officials in Sulu] that the province would be better off under a different region. I respect the SC ruling and the LGUs’ (local government units’) position,” he said, adding that Sulu should now be allowed to navigate its way under a new region for at least two years.

After that, and if it does not work, Loong said a legislative measure could be pursued for Sulu’s return to the BARMM.