The recent signing of Executive Order No. 91, Series of 2025 by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., formally transferring the Province of Sulu from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula), is a deeply painful moment — not just politically, but personally.
While this move follows the Supreme Court's ruling on G.R. Nos. 242255, 243246, and 243693 — declaring that the 2019 BARMM plebiscite was valid only in areas that directly voted in favor — the emotional and historical connection of the Tausūg people to the Bangsamoro cannot be reduced to legal technicalities.
Sulu is not just territory. It is heritage. It is sacrifice. It is Bangsamoro.
In response, I and several colleagues in the Bangsamoro Parliament are planning to file a resolution urging the Philippine Congress to enact a law that will enable the immediate conduct of a plebiscite in Sulu — so that the people themselves may once again be given a clear, democratic, and rightful choice.
We are encouraging fellow Members of Parliament to co-sponsor this resolution, standing together in unity and conviction.
This is not merely a legal or legislative issue — it is a matter of identity, justice, and the long struggle for meaningful self-determination. We respect the law, but we also carry the hopes of our people. We must act.
We may be in pain, but we will not remain silent. We will move forward — with dignity, with determination, and with faith in the power of the people’s voice.
August 02, 2025 - BY Admin