Sulu moved from BARMM to Zamboanga Peninsula

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Executive Order 91 aims to ensure the smooth delivery of public services to the island province, which opted out of the BARMM

MANILA, Philippines – More than half a year after the Supreme Court (SC) finalized Sulu’s exit from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed an executive order (EO) transferring the province to Zamboanga Peninsula.

State-run PTV4 shared EO No. 91, which was signed on July 30, on X.

This upholds the decision of the people of Sulu in the 2019 plebiscite, where they chose to not ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

“There exists an urgent need to effectively implement and address the effects of the Supreme Court Decision and Resolution on the operations of NGAs (national government agencies) and the delivery of public services in the Province of Sulu,” Marcos says in EO No. 91.

The EO formed a technical working group (TWG) in charge of ensuring a smooth transition for the realignment.

The TWG must determine budget realignment, staffing adjustments, and program transfers.

The EO takes effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

Vote for exclusion

Sulu was part of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the predecessor of BARMM, which voted in 2019 whether they agreed to create a new Bangsamoro region.

The island province was part of the minority to vote no to the BOL. Then-Sulu governor Abdusakur Tan II filed a petition before the SC to declare the BOL unconstitutional, and that Sulu should be allowed to opt out of the BARMM.

Before the SC ruled in favor of the province, Sulu remained part of BARMM since the BOL states that all ARMM provinces were to be taken as one.

Meanwhile, the first parliamentary polls for the BARMM are set for October 13, with seven Bangsamoro Parliament seats meant for Sulu. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said it will proceed with the BARMM polls for just 73 seats, since Congress has not passed a law reallocating the seven that belonged to Sulu.

The Comelec said the seven district representative seats previously allocated to Sulu are considered temporarily vacant. – Rappler.com