Bangsamoro Darul Ifta’ (BDI) screens applications of BARMM Ulama Sectoral Organizations (USO) on June 26, 2024 in Cotabato City for accreditation process with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in preparation for the 2025 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections. (Hamdan Badrudin/BIO)
COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Darul Ifta’ (BDI) on Wednesday began scrutinizing applications from Ulama Sectoral Organizations (USO) to include in the accreditation process with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in preparation for the 2025 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.
BDI Jurist Doctor Muhammad Nadheer Ebil mentioned that qualified and certified legitimate USOs will participate in the selection process of the Ulama Sectoral Representative to be a Member of Parliament through an assembly and convention in accordance with the Islamic principle of Ash-Shurah, or consultation.
“Unlike the regular election method where we cast our votes in the ballot boxes, the selection process of the Ulama Sectoral Representative would be in the form of Ash-Shura or consultation,” he explained.
“The Ulama Sectoral Representative to be a Member of Parliament will be selected prior to the 2025 parliamentary election,” he further stressed.
The accreditation process is in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 11054, also known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 35, also known as the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC).
According to BEC, reserved seats for sectoral representatives shall constitute at least ten percent (10%) of the Parliament’s members. This includes two (2) seats for Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples and settler Communities, and one seat each for women, youth, traditional leaders, and the Ulama, with a minimum of eight (8) sectoral representatives.
The COMELEC set a deadline of July 1, 2024, for the accreditation of sectoral organizations to be included in the selection process for one seat in Parliament.
The BDI posted the announcement for submission on May 28, 2024, with an initial deadline of June 26, 2024. However, this deadline was extended to July 1, 2024, to accommodate additional applicants and give them enough time to comply with the requirements.
Applicants for certification from the BDI to be endorsed to the COMELEC must submit the following:
- An accomplished and notarized application form containing:
– The full name of the Ulama Sectoral Organization
– Principal place of business and postal address for election purposes
– Official email address and contact number
– Names and addresses of its officers
– The total number of its members, which must be at least fifty (50)
- Constitution and by-laws
- Organizational structure
- Notarized list of members
- Track record of advocacy
- Platform of government, anchored on its sectoral advocacies
This accreditation process is designed to promote the democratic participation of the Ulama sector and allow them to freely engage in the political processes in the Bangsamoro region. (Kasan Usop, Jr./BIO)
