Special BTA session set as Bangsamoro redistricting bill stalls

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The speaker of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) parliament on Tuesday, January 6, called a special session for next week to resume deliberations on a long-delayed measure to redraw parliamentary districts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), a move seen as crucial to keeping the region’s 2026 elections on track.

BTA Speaker Mohammad Yacob said the session, sought by BARMM interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, would be held on Monday, January 12, at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City. Lawmakers are expected to continue debates on proposed legislation to reapportion parliamentary districts.

Yacob said the session will be convened under parliamentary rules that allows the speaker to call lawmakers together to address urgent or critical public matters, and urged all members to attend.

The redistricting bill has taken on new urgency after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last month indefinitely suspended the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2026 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, citing the absence of legally defined districts.

The Comelec had originally scheduled the filing from January 5 to 9, but said it could not proceed without a districting law, which is also required before ballots can be printed and seats allocated. 

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The Supreme Court had earlier ordered that the districts be defined by October 30, 2025, a deadline that was missed.

Deliberations on the bill stalled late last year after the BTA parliament failed to muster a quorum, with only 38 of its 80 members attending a committee session. It was short of the simple majority needed to conduct business.

The need for a redistricting law resulted from an SC ruling that excluded the province of Sulu from the BARMM, leaving seven of the 80 parliamentary seats in limbo. Before its exclusion, Sulu had seven parliamentary districts.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the region must maintain an 80-seat parliament, requiring the remaining provinces to absorb the seats.

Officials from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party, which dominates the transition authority, have said they want to ensure any redistricting law can withstand legal scrutiny, even as pressure mounts to meet the electoral timetable.

Failure to pass the measure could further delay preparations for the first regular Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, a key milestone in the region’s peace process and transition to self-governance. – Rappler.com