Bangsamoro, Philippines

Introduction

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) has been supporting democratic stability in Bangsamoro since 2020. Officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Bangsamoro is an autonomous region in the Southern Philippines formed with the ratification of the Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law on 26 July 2018.

The centrepiece of a long-running peace process in which the UK Government played an important support role, WFD’s Supporting Democratic Stability in the Bangsamoro Programme has provided support to key institutions working on the political track of the transition.

Context

The establishment of Bangsamoro was the culmination of several years of peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which called for the creation of a region with more powers devolved from the national government.

A transition body, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) serves as the interim regional governing body pending the election of the new region's government officials in May 2025.

As a parliamentary system within a presidential system of government, the BTA aspires to be a robust, inclusive and accountable regional democracy within the Philippines, with an end to armed conflict.

The BTA navigates a range of governance issues to enable the new autonomous region to transition into a working democratic entity. These include: 

Creating a devolved parliamentary system of government within a unitary, presidential state;

Crafting an electoral system that provides for a fairer playing field and represents diverse group interests;

Ensuring the new politics of the region includes everyone;

Ensuring that Bangsamoro women and other minority groups have political voice and meaningful representation.

Current programmes

Supporting Democratic Stability in the Bangsamoro

WFD is leading a programme supporting the BTA to deliver on the Bangsamoro Organic Law, funded through the UK Integrated Security Fund (UKISF). WFD’s work in the Bangsamoro addresses some of the most pressing areas of the transition, including:  

Strengthening the Bangsamoro Parliament and developing the expertise of its members and staff;

Supporting the development of a political party system that fits the new parliamentary frame and which allows for meaningful representation for all peoples of the Bangsamoro;

Supporting women political leaders in the Bangsamoro to work together to identify and influence policies and laws;

Capacitating civil society groups to extend engagement across the government and parliament, influencing policy agenda and issues

Now in its third year of programme implementation and with Bangsamoro gearing up for the 2025 BARMM elections, WFD is focused on three areas:

Improved and more sustainable parliamentary policies and practices beyond the 2025 elections;
Improved electoral processes, information and education around the elections;
Greater inclusion of marginalised groups, particularly women, as voters and candidates.

Status

Underway

Start date

January 2020