Sulu remains ‘priority area’ for peace work despite BARMM exit

MANILA, Philippines – Despite its exclusion from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Sulu remains “a priority area” for the national government’s peace work as it is still covered by the 1996 final peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

“In terms of the MNLF peace process, Sulu is still a priority area because it’s a bastion of the struggle, especially of the MNLF,” Jill Gallardo, director of the MNLF peace process office, told reporters on Friday, July 3. “There is no disruption and we continue to engage also the MNLF in Sulu for our different programs.”

Gallardo said interventions in the province continue “even if they’re not anymore part of the BARMM, because the 1996 final peace agreement covers the implementation in Sulu.”

Sulu’s exclusion from BARMM means it cannot have district representatives in the Bangsamoro government – which will be decided in the historic first parliamentary election of the region on September 14.

The province’s exclusion stems from a unanimous Supreme Court decision in 2024. The High Court’s basis was Sulu’s decision to vote against the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law during the 2019 plebiscite. The polls, then scheduled for May 2025, were postponed as a result.

But even with Sulu’s exit, MNLF retains a semblance of political representation in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.

Among MNLF members who are members of parliament are Abdulkarim Misuari and Nurredha Misuari, children of MNLF founder Nur Misuari. Muslimin Sema, who leads a faction of the MNLF, continues to serve as the minister of labor and employment.

The Bangsamoro government retained funding for regional offices in Sulu in their 2026 budget. This follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order that the Bangsamoro government coordinate with the local government of Sulu to ensure uninterrupted delivery of public services. The province is now part of Zamboanga Peninsula.

Factions of the MNLF fielded candidates through the Bangsamoro Party and Mahardika for the September 14 parliamentary election. – Rappler.com