Creation of 2 new BARMM parliamentary districts sought

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Residents of 63 barangays in Cotabato grouped as Special Geographic Area (SGA) are in favor of a proposal to create two parliamentary districts covering their communities for them to be represented in the Bangsamoro parliament.

The 63 SGA villages are under eight municipalities created last year by the 80-seat parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) through separate enabling measures.

These villages do not belong to any parliamentary district and are not represented in the region’s lawmaking body.

The eight new Bangsamoro municipalities – Kaabakan, Kadayangan, Kapalawan, Ligawasan, Malidegao, Nabalawag, Old Pahamuddin and Tugunan – have elected officials who manage local government units under the Bangsamoro region.

These villages are located in Cotabato province, which is under the administrative jurisdiction of Region 12 or Soccsksargen.

At a multisectoral dialogue in Midsayap on Friday, local executives and community leaders from eight towns expressed support for the passage of Parliament Bill 351, which seeks to establish two districts in their domains.

The measure aims to group Kapalawan, Ligawasan, Malidegao and Old Kaabacan into one district, and Kadayangan, Nabalawag, Pahamuddin and Tugunan in another.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, chair of the BARMM parliament local government committee, said the dialogue gave leaders of SGA towns a chance to talk about their views on Parliament Bill 351.

“This showed the SGA is not just a simple geographic grouping of Muslim communities in Cotabato, but a real integral part of the Bangsamoro region with representatives in the parliament,” Nabalawag Councilor Masulot Mentok said.