COTABATO CITY (BusinessWorld, Oct. 24, 2024) — 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 allow the extension of the tenure for its members from 2025 to 2028 through legislation
The resolution was approved by regional lawmakers during a session on Tuesday.
The Public Information Division of the BARMM parliament, also known as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, said in a statement on Thursday that the proponents of the resolution said 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 appointive capacity, valid only until next year. The first bloc of BARMM lawmakers were appointed in 2019 by then President Rodrigo R. Duterte. Their terms lasted until 2022.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. retained most of them and appointed newcomers in the lawmaking body in August 2022.
Lawyers in the Bangsamoro parliament said their terms may only be extended through a legislative measure.
SOURCE: BusinessWorld, Oct. 24, 2024, by John Felix M. Unson
