Cotabato City constituent Sema Dilna, President of Cotabato State University, represents the academe in a consultation held on January 15, 2024 for the proposed Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Bill No. 267, which seeks to establish Bangsamoro parliament districts. (Hamdan Badrudin/BIO)
COTABATO CITY—Barangay chairpersons, educators, and the security sector are hopeful that the creation of two parliament districts will bring progress to this city.
During the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s (BTA) public consultation on Bill No. 267, on Jan. 15, 2024, Chairman Christopher Anthony Coraza of Barangay Rosary Heights-2 expressed his positive remarks on the proposed bill.
“Kami sa council at mga constituents ko ay pabor po at sumusuporta na magkaroon ng dalawang distrito. Gusto namin mapabilis ang improvement sa aming barangay in terms of infrastructure, economic at iba pang services na binibigay ng Bangsamoro Government,” he said.
[We in the council and the constituents are in favor and support having two districts. We want to speed up the improvement in our barangay in terms of infrastructure, economic, and other services provided by the Bangsamoro Government.]
The proposed bill aims to establish parliament districts in the different areas of the Bangsamoro region, including three in Basilan, seven in Sulu, three in Tawi-Tawi, eight in Lanao del Sur, four in Maguindanao del Norte, four in Maguindanao del Sur, one in the Special Geographic Area (SGA), and two in Cotabato City.
For Cotabato City, the bill advocates a division into two parliamentary districts, encompassing 20 barangays for the first district and 17 barangays for the second district.
“Alam namin na ang BARMM ay tumutulong sa mga barangay, gusto naming mas ma-doble pa ang mga services. Mahirap i-improve ang malawak na area sa pagkaroon ng ganitong inisyatiba. In this way, hopefully, in two or three years mabilis ang improvement,” Coraza added.
[We know that BARMM helps the barangays, and we want to double the services even more. It is difficult to improve a wide area with this initiative. In this way, hopefully, in two or three years the improvement will be fast.]
Sema Dilna, President of Cotabato State University, representing the academe, also voiced support for the proposition, saying, “On behalf of CSU, let us support the creation of a parliamentary district in BARMM because it is necessary and beneficial to our constituents in legal and moral governance.”
Meanwhile, Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, the BTA Floor Leader and Committee on Rules Chair, emphasized the vital role of the bill in the upcoming 2025 elections.
“The proposed districts are a prerequisite for conducting elections in the region, and their absence would hinder the electoral process, underscoring the necessity of the legislation for the political progression of the region,” she said.
Under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, the Parliament will consist of 80 Members of Parliament, comprising 40 party representatives, 32 district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives.
The committee encourages active public participation by inviting individuals and groups to submit their position papers by February 2, 2024. (Majid Nur/BIO)
