Bangsamoro
The Muslim-majority autonomous region of the southern Philippines, set up in 2019 to end decades of war with Moro rebels. After seven years under a transitional government led by former rebels, it elected its first parliament in September 2026.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 28 September 2026Suggest a correction
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From rebellion to agreement
The Moro peoples are the Muslim groups of Mindanao and the islands to its south, who long resisted absorption into a Philippine national identity.[4] The Bangsamoro government dates its struggle’s turning point to the Jabidah incident of 1968.[1] The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed the Tripoli Agreement with the government in 1976 and a Final Peace Agreement in 1996.[1]
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) split from the MNLF in the 1970s and kept fighting.[4] Its talks with the government produced the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2012 and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro on 27 March 2014, which ended more than 20 years of armed struggle between the two sides.[1] The 2012 framework called for a parliamentary government and for “genuinely principled political parties”.[2]
A new region in 2019
President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law on 27 July 2018. Plebiscites in January and February 2019 ratified it, replacing the older Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was inaugurated in Cotabato City on 29 March 2019.[1] On 21 January 2019 Cotabato City voted to join.[1]
Until elections could be held, a Bangsamoro Transition Authority led by the MILF ran the region, with both legislative and executive powers. The MILF chairman, Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, was interim chief minister from 2019 until 2025, when another MILF figure, Abdulraof Macacua, took over.[1][2]
Sulu leaves, and the vote keeps slipping
The first election was meant for 2022. Congress moved it to May 2025, citing COVID-19 and the need to finish building institutions.[2][1] In September 2024 the Supreme Court ruled that Sulu province was not part of Bangsamoro, because its voters had rejected the Organic Law in 2019. That removed Sulu’s seven planned seats, and the election was moved to October 2025.[2]
The court then struck down the new district map, and a replacement came too late for the elections commission to prepare. In March 2026 Congress set the election for 14 September 2026, with members taking office on 30 October.[2]
The first parliament
The 80-member parliament mixes three kinds of seat. Forty go to regional parties by proportional representation across the whole region, 32 to single-member districts, and eight to sectors such as Indigenous peoples, settlers, women, youth, traditional leaders and religious scholars. Parties must have branches across the region, and at least 30% of their nominees must be women.[2] The chief minister must command a majority in parliament.[2]
In the party vote on 14 September 2026, the Bangsamoro Federal Party won 16 seats, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party 15, the BARMM Grand Coalition 8 and the Raayat Democratic Party 1.[3] No party won a majority on its own.[3][2]
Timeline
1968
Jabidah
The Jabidah incident becomes a flashpoint of the Moro struggle.[1]
1976
Tripoli Agreement
The government and the MNLF sign an agreement.[1]
1996
MNLF peace
The MNLF signs a Final Peace Agreement.[1]
201427 March 2014
Comprehensive Agreement
The government and the MILF sign their final peace accord.[1]
201827 July 2018
Organic Law
The Bangsamoro Organic Law is signed.[1]
201929 March 2019
BARMM inaugurated
The new region replaces the ARMM.[1]
2024
Sulu excluded
The Supreme Court rules Sulu is not part of Bangsamoro.[2]
202614 September 2026
First election
More autonomous regions
Sources
- [1]Bangsamoro’s long journey: From peace table to ballot · Bangsamoro Information Office (BARMM government) · 14 September 2026
- [2]Bangsamoro is finally voting. What is it voting for? · New Mandala · 2026-09
- [3]BFP wins 16 seats, UBJP gets 15 in historic BARMM elections · GMA News · 15 September 2026
- [4]Moro Islamic Liberation Front · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- [5]Bangsamoro (relation 3821409) · OpenStreetMap contributors
Outline for the map, cut to the 1:50m coastline and simplified.
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.