Philippines’ Muslim region parliament okays long-delayed law
Bangsamoro Parliament has passed a long-delayed districting measure needed for the Philippines’ Muslim-majority region’s first parliamentary elections
COTABATO CITY, Philippines (MNTV) – The Bangsamoro Parliament has passed a long-delayed districting measure needed for the Philippines’ Muslim-majority region’s first parliamentary elections, reports Rappler.
The measure, BTA Bill No. 415, officially called the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2025, was approved at 12:33 am following a 10-hour special session that began on Monday, January 12.
Parliament Bill No. 415 was approved on third and final reading by nominal vote: 48 members voting yes, 19 voting no, and four abstaining, ending a period of uncertainty over the allocation of parliamentary seats in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
With Sulu province and its parliamentary district seats excluded from the BARMM due to a 2024 Supreme Court ruling, the measure redraws the region’s map to create 32 single-member parliamentary districts. Each district is required to be contiguous, compact, adjacent, and have a minimum population of 100,000.
The bill’s passage comes after delays in late 2025 that prompted the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last December to suspend the filing of certificates of candidacy in the Bangsamoro region.
Filing had been put on hold because there was no valid districting law in place following another Supreme Court ruling in 2025 that struck down the region’s earlier redistricting laws as unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court ruled in late September 2025, striking down BARMM’s earlier redistricting laws as unconstitutional, which postponed the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections from October 2025 to March 30, 2026.
The new regional law, authored by Bangsamoro Transition Authority Member Naguib Sinarimbo and nine other regional lawmakers, was chosen from six competing districting bills.
According to officials, the measure is intended to ensure fair representation and bring the region’s electoral framework into line with the Bangsamoro Organic Law, national statutes, and the Constitution.
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