page_title: Bangsamoro
section_title: Bangsamoro Organic Law and 2019 plebiscite
hierarchical_section_title: Bangsamoro / History / Bangsamoro Organic Law and 2019 plebiscite
caption_attribution_description: English: Voters look for their names inside Basak Malutlut Elementary School, Marawi City during the Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite Monday (January 21).
context_page_description: The Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or BARMM, is an autonomous region located in the southern Philippines.
  Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region was formed with the ratification of its basic law, the Bangsamoro Organic Law following two-part legally-binding plebiscite in Western Mindanao held on January 21 and February 6, 2019. The ratification was confirmed a few days later on January 25 by the Commission on Elections.
  The establishment of the Bangsamoro was the culmination of several years of peace talks between the Philippine government, and several autonomist groups; in particular the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF, which rejected the validity of the ARMM and called for the creation of a region with more powers devolved from the national government. A framework agreement known as the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was negotiated between the Aquino administration and the MILF in 2014.
context_section_description: Under the presidency of Aquino's successor, Rodrigo Duterte, a new draft for the BBL was made and became legislated into law as the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in 2018. A plebiscite was held on January 21, 2019 to ratify the BOL, with a majority of ARMM's voters deciding for the ratification of the law which meant that the future abolition of the ARMM and the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region was in motion. Voters in Cotabato City voted to join the new autonomous region while Isabela City voted against inclusion. The Commission on Elections proclaimed that the BOL is "deemed ratified" on January 25, 2019. The provincial government of Sulu, where majority voted against inclusion, was also not in favor of the law with its governor challenging the constitutionality of the law before the Supreme Court. Despite voting against inclusion, Sulu was still included in the Bangsamoro region due to rules stated in the BOL, sparking outrage from the natives.
  In February 2019, the second round of the plebiscite was held in the province of Lanao del Norte and some towns in North Cotabato. The plebiscite resulted in the inclusion of 63 of 67 barangays in North Cotabato which participated. It also resulted in the rejection from the province of Lanao del Norte against the bid of 6 of its Muslim-majority towns to join the Bangsamoro, despite the 6 towns (Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangcal) opting to join the Bangsamoro by a sheer majority with one town even voting for inclusion by 100%. A major camp of the MILF was within the Muslim areas of Lanao del Norte.
caption: Voters look for their names at a precinct in Marawi during the January 21 BOL plebiscite.
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