Jea Nicole Jacot

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will file an appeal to the Supreme Court regarding its recent ruling that excluded Sulu province from the region. 

Photo Courtesy Philippine Star/Karl Jamandra.

"Magfa-file kami [We will file] a motion for leave to intervene with a motion for partial reconsideration," BARMM spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Mohd Asnin Pendatun said in a news forum in Quezon City on Sept. 28.

Earlier, the high court upheld the validity of Republic Act No. 11054, or Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), where it also declared Sulu separated from BARMM after the province rejected the law’s ratification during a 2019 plebiscite. 

Pendatun said the BARMM government received a copy of the ruling on Sept. 16, and added the governing body is filing for a motion for leave to intervene since it is not directly involved in the case.

“Pero since kami nga ang pinakaapektado [Since we are most affected], we still intend to file a motion for reconsideration. Even the other party to the case will file a motion for reconsideration on or before Oct. 1. We are still hoping that it will be reconsidered,” he said.

Put into law in July 2018, the BOL sought to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with BARMM. 

It then granted BARMM expansion in its territorial jurisdiction, greater fiscal autonomy, and an increased share of national government resources, among others. 

In the same year, Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan II questioned the legality of the BOL, arguing that ARMM cannot be dissolved without a constitutional amendment. 

Fifty percent of Sulu's population voted against the agreement.

"As Sulu rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law in the plebiscite, it was wrong to include the province in BARMM," said SC spokesperson Camille Ting.

"Sulu is very important in the BARMM. We cannot speak about the Bangsamoro identity, the Bangsamoro struggle, or the Bangsamoro narrative without starting in Sulu,” Pendatun said in response to the court’s decision, expressing that the separation of Sulu “saddened” them. 

The removal of Sulu from the region will consequently affect the national budget. 

In May 2025, BARMM will have its first parliamentary elections.

Given the high court’s decision, Sulu is restricted from participating in the said elections.