In a statement Thursday, June 17, Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim has declined a provision in Senate Bill (SB) No. 2214, or the Act Resetting the First Regular Elections in the BARMM, which adds six more seats to MILF’s BTA representation. Currently, MILF has 41 representatives in the 80-member interim body.
Asked for comment, BARMM spokesperson and Minister of the BARMM Interior and Local Government, Atty. Naguib G. Sinarimbo, said Friday, June 18, that: "The MILF, as principal partner of the Philippine government in the CAB, does not seek an increase in the number of seats it holds in the BTA." "The Chief Minister prefers that the additional six seats be allotted to sectors whose representation in the BTA would make the institution more inclusive and achieve our goal of making sure that no one is left behind," Sinarimbo added.
Section 2 of SB No. 2214 provides that the President "shall appoint the eighty (80) new interim members of the BTA, which shall be composed of the following: (a) Forty-seven (47) members nominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, from whom the Chief Minister will be appointed, (b) Four (4) members nominated by each of the six (6) BARMM provincial local government units through their respective Sanggunians: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Tawi-Tawi, and Sulu, (c) One (1) member each nominated by the following local government units: the BARMM barangays in North Cotabato, Marawi City, and Cotabato City; and (d) Six (6) members nominated by non-Moro indigenous peoples, such as Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo, B'laan, and Higaonon." The provision also states that "all appointed interim BTA officers shall hold office until the duly elected officials in the May 2025 elections shall have qualified and assumed office."
During the opening of the Third Regular Session of the BTA Plenary on Tuesday, June 15, Ebrahim said: "We reiterate, especially to the naysayers, that the extension of the transition period is never about power." "It is about ensuring the successful implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process. This is not just the legacy of the MILF or the Duterte administration but the legacy of this generation and a gift to the next generations of the Bangsamoro," he added.
Ebrahim added last Tuesday that despite the challenges, "the call for the extension of the transition period has never been more resounding than now." "The President and the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives are giving us the nod that it will happen," he added.
The bill is still pending on second reading.