Cotabato – A decisive moment for the people of the southern Philippines has been marred by violence and death. Violent clashes disrupted the first parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao , held today, 14 September, leaving three people dead and fifteen wounded in a shooting in Cotabato City before polling stations opened.
The violence has shaken the local population. Catholic communities across the region have issued appeals for peaceful elections and organized prayer gatherings on election day. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting , a Catholic organization engaged in civic monitoring of the electoral process, said it was gathering information on the incidents of violence.
According to initial reports, shootings near polling stations broke out following a dispute over places in line to vote. Shots were fired outside a school serving as a polling station in Cotabato shortly before 7 a.m., following a brawl. Those involved belonged to rival factions that emerged from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which fought for regional autonomy for decades.
Cotabato City, the capital of the BARMM region, had already been placed under the supervision of the Commission on Elections following incidents of pre-election violence. More than 20,000 law-enforcement personnel have been deployed across the BARMM, with rapid-response teams trained to deal with potential outbreaks of violence.
The elections mark a milestone in a peace process that began in the late 1990s and led to the creation of the autonomous Muslim region of “Bangsamoro”, . Church and civil society leaders have issued numerous appeals to the population. Before the vote, Bishop Leo Dalmao of Basilan said that “the peace experienced by the province in recent years should be reflected in the conduct of the elections”, expressing the hope that the vote would bring “better and more capable leaders” for Basilan and the Bangsamoro region.
Archbishop Charlie Inzon, OMI, of Cotabato issued a pastoral letter entitled “On the First Parliamentary Elections of the BARMM: Walking Together in Peace, Justice and Hope,” describing the elections as “a significant milestone in our ongoing journey towards lasting peace, authentic development, good governance and the fulfilment of the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people”.
He urged voters to participate “with conscience, wisdom and courage” and to reject vote-buying, material inducements, pressure, intimidation and disinformation. The pastoral letter also calls for “giving priority to the common good, human dignity and vulnerable people” and urges political parties and candidates to refrain from discrediting one another.
More than 2.4 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots to elect members of the BARMM Parliament, which has 80 seats, with 13 political parties vying for election. Of the 80 parliamentary seats, 40 are allocated through political parties, 32 are district seats from six parliamentary constituencies, and eight are reserved for “sectoral representatives,” including indigenous peoples, ulama, traditional leaders, youth, and women. The consultations, scheduled after numerous postponements, represent a crucial step in the peace process envisaged by the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the autonomous region’s fundamental and constitutive legislation.
Around six million Muslims live in the southern Philippines, concentrated in several provinces, particularly on the island of Mindanao. Since the 1970s, Islamic movements have historically developed in the area, demanding independence or autonomy from the government in Manila, at times through armed rebellion.
Currently, the BARMM comprises the following areas of the Philippine island of Mindanao and neighbouring islands: the provinces of Basilan ; Lanao del Sur; Maguindanao del Norte; Maguindanao del Sur; Tawi-Tawi. It also includes the cities of Cotabato City , Marawi City and Lamitan City , alongside eight municipalities in the province of North Cotabato which voted in favour of inclusion in the BARMM in the 2019 plebiscite. The province of the Sulu Archipelago, on the other hand, was excluded from the BARMM following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling, because in 2019 it had voted against the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
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