COTABATO CITY—The 80-member parliament in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has passed a resolution requesting the House of Representatives and the Senate to legislate an extension of its members' tenure from 2025 to 2028.
The resolution was approved by regional lawmakers during a session on Tuesday, October 22.
The Public Information Division of the BARMM parliament, also known as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, said in a statement released on Thursday that the proponents of the resolution had explained during deliberations that the present regional lawmakers need ample time to prepare for the first-ever parliamentary elections in the region and in educating voters on the intricacies of such an electoral exercise.
The present members of the Bangsamoro parliament are functioning in an appointive capacity, valid only until next year.
The first bloc of BARMM lawmakers was appointed by then-President Rodridgo Duterte in 2019. Their terms lasted until 2022.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. retained most of them and appointed some newcomers to the lawmaking body in August 2022.
Lawyers in the Bangsamoro parliament saidthat only through a legislative measure can the national government extend the tenure of the current Bangsamoro parliament members from 2025 to 2028