PBBM’s peace initiatives pave way for historic BARMM polls
The first regular parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) today, September 14, 2026, are the product not of a single government action, but of a series of measures that have progressively moved the peace process from armed conflict and normalization toward autonomous governance and democratic participation.
Under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., these initiatives have converged with the political track of the Bangsamoro peace process, helping create the conditions for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to make the historic transition from revolutionary organization to participant in parliamentary democracy.
At the heart of the government’s approach has been the simultaneous pursuit of the political and normalization tracks of the peace process.
This has included efforts involving amnesty and the normalization of former Moro combatants, alongside measures aimed at strengthening BARMM autonomy and preparing the autonomous region for its first regular parliamentary elections.
Together, these actions have helped move the peace process beyond the cessation of armed conflict toward the building of political institutions where former combatants and their communities can participate through democratic means.
Datu Michael O. Mastura, a former senior member of the MILF panel in peace negotiations with the government, said the MILF’s participation in the elections represents a crucial step in that transition.
The administration’s efforts have also extended to ensuring that the electoral exercise itself can take place under conditions that allow voters to participate and the process to proceed with credibility.
President Marcos ordered security and law enforcement agencies to ensure that the September 14 elections are peaceful, orderly, free and credible. He also authorized the deputation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and other government agencies to assist the Commission on Elections.
The President likewise declared September 14 a special non-working day throughout BARMM, giving Bangsamoro voters the opportunity to fully participate in the electoral exercise.
These measures form the immediate institutional and security framework for the polls, but they rest on a much longer peace process.
The Marcos Jr. administration’s measures have thus built on decades of agreements and institutions, while addressing the requirements for the Bangsamoro’s transition into an autonomous political system.
Mastura said the next challenge is to ensure that the new parliamentary system produces broader institutional reforms rather than simply a change in political leadership.
The presence of multiple parties in the elections, he added, could help establish the foundations of a functioning parliamentary system.
“We have 13 parties vying for seats in the parliament. That is a good sign that we are finally realizing that a party system can work,” said Mastura, who represented Maguindanao and Cotabato City in Congress from 1987 to 1995.
The electoral system is expected to make the composition of the parliament central to the formation of the regional government.
“Voting will be done to select parties that will have seats in the parliament. The more seats you have, the more you will be qualified to form the government of the day. I think the way is a coalition government,” Mastura added.
For President Marcos, the elections represent another step in consolidating the gains of the peace process through democratic institutions.
“Let this election show that the future of the Bangsamoro is shaped by the people themselves: through your voices, your choices, and your hopes for your respective communities,” President Marcos said during the opening of the 2026 National Peace Consciousness Month.
(Editor’ note: This piece was repurposed from a news feature from the Presidential Communications Office.)
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