Bangsamoro stakeholders urged: Ensure credible 2025 BARMM polls

PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday reiterated his call for Bangsamoro stakeholders, especially those from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), to ensure a peaceful, credible and successful parliamentary elections in 2025.

The President, during the celebration of the 2024 National Peace Consciousness Month and the commemoration of the 28th anniversary of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the MNLF held in Malacañang, said the election is an important reminder not only of the democracy that the country enjoys, but also of the visionaries who paved the way for the freedom that Filipinos now experience.

“I also call on the MNLF and other stakeholders of BARMM to ensure a peaceful, orderly, and credible conduct of the 1st Bangsamoro Elections next year. The forthcoming election is an important reminder not only of the democracy that empowers us to mold our destinies but also of the visionaries who paved the way for the freedom that we [all] relish today,” Marcos said.

The first parliamentary election in BARMM is set to be held on May 12, 2025, alongside the midterm elections.

BARMM was established in 2018 after former President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11054, or the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The law seeks to end decades of conflict in Mindanao by creating a political entity that would enjoy greater autonomy than the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The Bangsamoro government earlier urged more sectoral representatives to participate in the first BARMM parliamentary elections in 2025.