Bangsamoro Organic Law

The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), formally Republic Act No. 11054, was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on 26 July 2018 and ratified through a two-part plebiscite in January and February 2019. It established the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which replaced the older Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) created in 1989.

The law is the legislative culmination of decades of peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), particularly the 2012 Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). An earlier draft, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, stalled in Congress after the 2015 Mamasapano clash that killed 44 police commandos.

Key features of the BOL include:

• A parliamentary-democratic form of government within the region, headed by a Chief Minister elected by the 80-seat Bangsamoro Parliament.
• An expanded territory covering the former ARMM provinces (Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi), the cities of Marawi and Lamitan, plus Cotabato City and 63 barangays in North Cotabato that voted to join.
• A block grant equal to 5% of the national internal revenue collections, automatically appropriated.
• Expanded fiscal autonomy, including a larger share of revenues from natural resources extracted in the region.
• Recognition of Shari'ah law in personal and family matters for Muslims, and recognition of indigenous justice systems.
• A Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) led by the MILF to govern during the transition period, which was extended by Republic Act No. 11593 to 2025.

Notably, the province of Sulu voted against inclusion in the 2019 plebiscite, and in September 2024 the Philippine Supreme Court ruled Sulu excluded from BARMM, a decision with significant implications for the region's territorial and political composition.