Duyog Bangsamoro urges new parliament to sustain peace process
Teresita Deles (left) and Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer answer questions during the Inquirer roundtable discussion on Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentatry elections and peace process on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. INQUIRER photo by Grig C. Montegrande MANILA, Philippines – Duyog Bangsamoro, a multisectoral coalition, on Tuesday weighed in on the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), urging the incoming Parliament to sustain the peace process and fulfill the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Representatives of the coalition met with INQUIRER editors and reporters for a roundtable discussion to assess the first ever BARMM parliamentary elections held on Monday, Sept. 14, the years-long peace process, and the future of the Bangsamoro Parliament.
READ: LIVE UPDATES: BARMM parliamentary election results | Sept. 15, 2026
Duyong Bangsamoro traces its roots to a peace coalition formed in March 2026. It seeks to support the Bangsamoro people in their pursuit of peace and development in the region.
It recognized the progress achieved since the signing of the CAB in 2014, which provided the framework for the Bangsamoro peace process and the creation of the autonomous government.
“There have been so many milestones—the way the ceasefire has been able to hold, the women’s leadership in the agreements, and who actually did it,” said Teresita Deles, former presidential adviser on peace process and one of the convenors of the coalition.
Prior to election day, Duyog Bangsamoro called for “free, fair, and credible” BARMM elections to allow residents of the region to make democratic decisions free from outside influence.
While some municipalities remained generally peaceful during the elections, cases of violence and vote-buying were also reported.
“Sa partners namin who are monitoring, definitely they noted a lot of violence sa Cotabato, and in terms of cheating, I think a lot of stories that we hear about the pre-shaded ballots, vote-buying, so marami din. So definitely, there’s room to contest,” said Kiko Aquino Dee, co-convenor of Tindig Pilipinas, a coalition of pro-democracy groups, civil society organizations, church leaders, and sectoral advocates in the country.
(Our partners who are monitoring the elections, definitely they noted a lot of violence in Cotabato. And in terms of cheating, I think we’ve heard a lot of stories about pre-shaded ballots and vote-buying, so there were quite a few as well. So definitely, there’s room to contest [the results].)
“But I think what’s also notable is that, despite all the cheating, because of the proportional representation, the gap [between the two parties] was quite small, so that’s a positive development,” he added.
Professor Merriam Coronel-Ferrer, the chair of the peace panel of the Philippine government during the time of then President Benigno Aquino III, welcomed the entry of new and younger politicians into the parliamentary elections.
“The regional parliamentary system has really managed to somehow put a wedge in the hold of traditional powers. New blood has entered,” Coronel-Ferrer said.
She said it was “very hopeful” to see young people enter politics through the party system, bringing party platforms and positions on specific issues to the elections.
“It was certainly refreshing,” she added.
Duyog Bangsamoro said the elections were only the beginning of the region’s parliamentary government and urged the incoming Parliament to remain committed to the CAB and the peace process.
The coalition said the normalization track under the CAB had yet to be fully completed and stressed the importance of continuing to work with the MILF in fulfilling the agreement.
“After elections, ang unang hihingin talaga namin, that everyone gives the signal that this will continue. That whatever happens in elections, that CAB dapat tapusin yan with the MILF,” Deles said.
(After the elections, what we are really asking is for everyone to give the signal that this will continue. Whatever happens in the elections, the CAB should be completed with the MILF.)
“We think that’s an important signal. Even if [the MILF] is not the majority party, the CAB was signed with the MILF and should continue with the MILF,” she said.
Deles added the new government must send a clear message to the Bangsamoro people and the MILF that the agreement would be fulfilled.
Coronel-Ferrer also said sustaining peace in the region would benefit not only BARMM but the wider Philippine economy.
“A peaceful BARMM is good, not just for BARMM business, but to the national business sector,” she said. /dp
