Non-Moro IP Groups to Nominate BARMM Parliament Representatives

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Officials on Saturday, August 8, urged the non-Moro indigenous groups in the Bangsamoro region to choose only the most qualified representatives as nominees for their 80-member parliament. This comes as part of an inter-tribal selection process preceding the September 14 regional parliamentary polls. Councils of at least six non-Muslim indigenous tribes in the Bangsamoro region are set to convene for this activity. The identities of their favored representatives to the parliament, chosen via nomination rather than a regular election administered by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), will be made public on election day. The parliament has two seats designated for the representatives of the indigenous peoples (IPs). Three members of the Bangsamoro parliament, Ishak Mastura of Maguindanao del Norte and Naguib Sinarimbo of Cotabato City, both lawyers, along with physician ophthalmologist Kadil Sinolinding Jr., who also serves as the regional health minister, have separately called on IP leaders in BARMM to carefully select whom they wish to represent them in the region’s law-making body. They stated that the parliament is the proper forum for IP communities to present recommendations and propose plans on how the regional government can best serve their constituents in their ancestral domains. The Comelec, the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, and the military’s Western Mindanao Command are now fully prepared for the first-ever September 14 parliamentary polls in BARMM’s five provinces: Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, and its three cities: Lamitan, Marawi, and Cotabato. Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. emphasized that non-Muslim indigenous groups must have strong representation in the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, which is crucial for crafting laws needed to foster peace and sustainable development in their ancestral domains. He also highlighted the historical significance of these communities, noting that the presence of Muslim communities in the region today is indebted to the non-Muslim indigenous communities that existed long before Islamic missionaries arrived centuries ago. Communities like the Higaonon tribe in Lanao del Sur are among the non-Muslim indigenous groups. Their leaders have already held tribal assemblies to discuss potential nominees for representation. These leaders, along with counterparts from other IP groups, are slated to participate in the BARMM inter-tribal conclave before the September 14 elections to select candidates who can best represent them in the parliament.