Funding the Transition to BARMM: Mandates, Myths and Reality

News

Joint Statement by IAG and CCAA on the Status of MILF Decommissioning

Aug 19, 2025

While headway was gained in the political track of the peace process where BARMM’s political institutions, laws and bureaucracy were put in place under the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the decommissioning of the MILF combatants has been painstakingly slow, tentative, and fraught with red flags, including the repeated and unilateral suspension of planned decommissioning processes and targets.

IEMC Urges Holding of Scheduled BARMM Polls for 73 Seats

Aug 12, 2025

The Independent Election Monitoring Center (IEMC), a recognized monitoring group of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), met with COMELEC Chairman George Garcia and five commissioners today to dialogue on several critical issues ahead of the October 13, 2025 parliamentary elections.

IAG to Present Independent Report on Bangsamoro’s Six-Year Transition at AZMI Forum

Aug 12, 2025

IAG will present its newly released independent assessment of governance in the BARMM at an upcoming Ateneo Zamboanga-Mindanao Institute (AZMI) public forum titled “On the Making of the Bangsamoro: A Conversation on the Past 6 Years.” Scheduled for August 27, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 NN via Zoom, the forum will unpack the findings of IAG’s independent report on...

Kusog Mindanaw 2025 Launches in Davao City, Marks Transition to Youth-Led Leadership

Aug 07, 2025

The Kusog Mindanaw Conference 2025 officially opened today at the Waterfront Insular Hotel, gathering over a hundred leaders and advocates from across Mindanao for two days of dialogue, reflection, and action.

Governor Mangudadatu Urges Youth to Lead with “Puso, Utak, at Kamay” at Kusog Mindanaw Conference 2025

Aug 07, 2025

Sultan Kudarat Governor Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu opened the Kusog Mindanaw 2025 Conference by urging participants to be “critical catalysts of change.” He reminded the audience that “politics is temporary—it comes and goes,” but leadership built on puso, utak, at kamay—heart, mind, and capacity—leaves a lasting legacy. His keynote marked a shift in Kusog Mindanaw’s history, as younger leaders stepped...

Groundbreaking Report Examines the Challenges to Autonomous Government in the Bangsamoro

Jul 30, 2025

IAG released today an independent assessment of governance in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The report offers the first comprehensive review of the six-year transition under the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Authority. The report examines a pivotal period in Muslim Mindanao’s journey toward autonomous regional governance, peacebuilding, and socio-economic development.

Independent Election Monitor Gears Up for Youth-Led Voter Education and Election Monitoring in BARMM’s SGA

Jul 28, 2025

Fifty-seven students from Notre Dame of Midsayap College (NDMC) joined a youth-focused forum last Friday, July 25, that spotlighted election monitoring insights and pre-election voter education efforts in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The Independent Election Monitoring Center (IEMC) presented findings and recommendations from its May 2025 monitoring work, followed by...

CSAT Chapters Scale Up Community-Led Electoral Integrity Initiatives Ahead of Historic BARMM Parliamentary Elections

Jul 17, 2025

As the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) prepares for its first parliamentary elections on October 13, 2025, the Coalition for Social Accountability and Transparency (CSAT) is mobilizing its regional chapters to scale up monitoring, education, and advocacy initiatives.

Get serious on the fundamentals of the peace process

Benedicto Bacani I Mar 19, 2025

The longer we hold off elections, the more we entrench a culture where people without public mandates feel entitled to public funds and to political office. Public funds are regarded more as “war booties” than public funds. In this environment, moral governance is a slogan without structures and policies to enforce it. Autonomy is a privilege than a regime of... Read more

POLICY BRIEF: Lessons for Creating Regional Governments

IAG Philippines I Mar 05, 2025

As the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) moves towards its historic first parliamentary election in 2025, the lessons learned from the ARMM's experience are more relevant than ever. Read more

POLICY BRIEF: Harnessing Indigenous Storytelling for Advocacy and Cultural Preservation

IAG Philippines I Jan 24, 2025

Indigenous peoples contribute to cultural heritage and social continuity. Yet, many of these are not yet visible in literature and are usually considered 'subjugated knowledge', meaning they are marginalized or suppressed. One of these is the Indigenous art of storytelling. Read more

Elevating SGA to a Province: Legal Challenges and Opportunities

IAG Philippines I Dec 04, 2024

This report assesses the viability of making the SGA a province in BARMM and its potential impact on the 2025 elections. It concludes that the SGA doesn't qualify as a province and proposes its annexation to Maguindanao del Norte. The report stresses the importance of congressional approval and community engagement for this change. Read more

IAG and CCAA: No legitimacy or rationale for postponing the BARMM regional elections

IAG Philippines I Nov 15, 2024

The Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) and the Climate Conflict Action (CCAA) see no legitimate or valid reason behind the proposal to postpone the Bangsamoro regional election to address so-called representation issues surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize Sulu’s desire for exclusion from the BARMM. Read more

The MP's Little Green Book

IAG Philippines I Oct 09, 2024

"The MP's Little Green Book" is designed to assist first-time Bangsamoro Members of Parliament (MPs) in performing their duties. It offers a simple and accessible guide to the parliamentary system, serving as a helpful resource for current and future MP's and their staff alongside other reading materials. Read more

Setting Baselines: Preparing the BARMM Electorate for the First Ever Regional Parliamentary Elections in 2025

IAG Research I Jun 19, 2024

As the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) prepares for its 2025 parliamentary elections, acquiring knowledge about the demographics of voters becomes crucial for political parties and policymakers striving to effectively engage with constituents. This groundbreaking report offers essential insights into voter profiles, the electorate's readiness for the 2025 polls, sources of information regarding political parties, top issues and... Read more

It's in the MILF’s interest to accommodate IPRA in the Bangsamoro

Soliman M. Santos, Jr. I Jun 07, 2024

Given the urgency surrounding the proposed BARMM IP Code (Bangsamoro Indigenous Peoples Development Act of 2024) and the ongoing violence affecting the Teduray-Lambangian tribe and other non-Moro IPs in Maguindanao, I’m sharing my previously confidential 9-page memo from January 7, 2015. The memo advises selected MILF leaders on the importance of accommodating IPRA (Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act) within the Bangsamoro... Read more

Protecting Identity and Ancestral Domain: The Urgent Need for Safeguards for Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples in the BARMM

Benedicto Bacani I May 08, 2024

IAG is of the belief that considering the current context by which the IP Code is legislated, it is not the MILF-led BTA, but the national government and to a certain extent the international community that supports the peace process, that hold the key to ensuring that the NMIP does not end up as the sacrificial lambs to attain “peace”... Read more

Four Rebel Group Amnesties: Win Some, Lose Some

Soliman M. Santos, Jr. I Apr 17, 2024

Four amnesty proclamations (Nos. 403, 404, 405, and 406) for various rebel groups, dated 22 November 2023, have been approved by both Houses of Congress. This approval puts them into effect and allows the National Amnesty Commission to start processing amnesty applications. Read more

PETITIONS ON BARMM REGIONAL CODES

Bangsamoro Local Governance Code

Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition under Rule 65

Bangsamoro Electoral Code

Petition-In-Intervention for Certiorari, Prohibition, Mandamus with Urgent Relief for the Issuance of Status Quo Ante Order (Latiph)
Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court (Pansar)
Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court (Mastura)

News

THINK PIECES

PETITIONS ON BARMM REGIONAL CODES