Diane Hora | iMINDSPH
Cotabato City — The Bangsamoro Parliament's Rules Committee commenced deliberations on Tuesday, February 6, on Parliament Bill No. 267, "An Act Providing for the Creation of Parliamentary Districts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao," after a series of consultations attended by over thirty thousand stakeholders from various parts of the region to ensure fair representation.
The Committee on Rules thoroughly discussed all position papers gathered in the public consultations.
Floor Leader and Committee on Rules Chair Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba explained the district apportionment formula for provinces, cities, and Special Geographic Areas.
The lawmaker emphasized the importance of adhering to the foundational policies and laws outlined in the Bangsamoro Organic Law, highlighting the need to comply with the provisions.
Committee members also discussed during the deliberation the potential reconfigurations in the distribution of parliamentary districts to achieve equal representation.
The committee agreed that the final report must include certified population data from the Philippine Statistics Authority and land area data from the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment.
The proposed measure aims to delineate the composition of the 32-member parliamentary districts across provinces, cities, municipalities, and the region's Special Geographic Area (SGA).
The bill proposes three (3) single-parliamentary districts in Basilan, seven (7) in Sulu, three (3) in Tawi-Tawi, eight (8) in Lanao del Sur, four (4) in Maguindanao del Norte, four (4) in Maguindanao del Sur, two (2) in Cotabato City, and one (1) in the SGA composed of 63 villages in Cotabato province.
Each district will comprise at least 100,000 residents and is designed to be contiguous, compact, and adjacent. The distribution of districts will be based on population and geographical area to ensure equitable representation among the 4.9 million Bangsamoro constituents.
In the 2025 elections, the Bangsamoro people will exercise their voting power to choose leaders who will represent them in the 80-member Parliament.
The Parliament is composed of 50% party representatives (40 members), 40% district representatives (32 members), and 10% sectoral representatives (eight members).
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