Public talks on BARMM districting bills gain traction

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Philstar.com

December 8, 2025 | 7:00pm

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The series of transparent and inclusive public consultations for the BARMM districting bill continued Monday, December 8, with the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) expected to keep its commitment to pass the measure within this month.

The said consultation tackles the proposed districting bills for the BARMM, which will serve as the foundational law for the first-ever Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) next year.

According to Member of the Parliament (MP) Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo, the series of ongoing public consultations continue to gain strong support from communities across the region.

Sinarimbo expresses his great appreciation for the positive and strong response of the communities to the public consultations of the BTA.

He explained that the Parliament began conducting the consultations early in November to give legislative committees enough time to hear all participants and gather comprehensive feedback from stakeholders.

Sinarimbo explained that the consultations are required by law, which tasks the Parliament to apportion the Bangsamoro region into parliamentary districts. He said this became necessary after a Supreme Court ruling adjusted parts of BARMM’s territorial coverage.

He added that the Parliament recently passed a districting law that reassigned seven seats originally meant for Sulu. Cotabato City now qualifies for three districts after meeting the 100,000 minimum population requirement.

The MP also reiterated that Cotabato residents were asked to submit position papers ahead of the consultation so their proposals could be included early in the committee’s work.

The first rounds of consultations were held in Tawi-Tawi on November 6, Basilan and Special Geographic Areas (SGAs) on December 4, Lanao Del Sur on December 7, and the latest session today, December 8, in Cotabato City.

During the session, Sinarimbo acknowledged the attendance of local officials, barangay leaders, civil society groups, and youth representatives, noting that their presence reflects strong community engagement.

Committee staff presented the five districting bills filed before the Parliament, outlining how each proposal arranges Cotabato City’s three districts based on population and geographic boundaries.

He said that the committees have already received numerous position papers from different provinces and are consolidating them for committee deliberations.

Sinarimbo then announced that extended consultations are scheduled on December 10 for Maguindanao del Sur and December 12 for Maguindanao del Norte.

The Parliament aims to complete all sessions by December 12 so that the joint Committees on Rules and Local Government can deliberate on the gathered inputs and prepare their report for the plenary.

He added that unlike previous districting consultations, this year’s events have attracted significantly more interest from the public. In Cotabato City alone, an estimated 262 people attended, which is much higher compared to past consultations.

Meanwhile, Sinarimbo noted that the consultations overlap with ongoing budget hearings, so committees are working efficiently to avoid delays in passing the 2026 regional budget.

During the open forum, representatives from the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) and the Independent Election Monitoring Center (IEMC) urged the Parliament to align the districting law with the Supreme Court ruling to avoid legal challenges and ensure that the 2026 BARMM elections stay on schedule.