Let us parse the arguments advanced by advocates for two parliamentary seats for Marawi City in the coming first regional parliamentary elections in 2025.

It would seem that their reasoning revolves around the text of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

According to Article 7, Section 10 of Republic Act 11054, “each district shall comprise... contiguous, compact, and adjacent territorial jurisdictions. Provided further that each district shall have a population of at least 100,000...” (underscoring mine).

If one looks closely at the law, it is easily discernible that two conditions sine qua non should exist before a district would be entitled to a representative in the regional parliament, viz., a population of at least 100,000 and the area must be contiguous. Discretion is limited to these two factors to shut down theoretically undue influencers like politics and other partisan considerations. Meaning, if the population reaches the threshold figure of 100,000 and the areas to be districted are compact and adjacent to each other, by the dictate of the law, the district must have one representative.

An equal weight of logic, therefore, says that if the statistical count is twice that of the designated threshold of 100,000 and the geography is compact, there should be a corresponding double representation. It’s simple logic and needs no stretching of the imagination or resorting to legal hermeneutics.

The answer to the conundrum on the population requirement is provided by the National Census and Statistics Office, a government agency with no other duty but to survey and determine population shifts and trends. And according to the 2020 census conducted by NCSO, Marawi City has a population of 207,000. Furthermore, it satisfies the geographical test of contiguity. Ergo, by force of the clear provision of law, it is entitled to two representatives. Touché!

According to the NCSO, historically, the BARMM is “the fastest growing region with an annual population growth rate (PGR) of 32.6 percent,” as juxtaposed with other regions nationwide. Taking this trend, the population of Marawi today, i.e., four years after the latest count, has exponentially increased. And this mathematical postulate would be boosted if one considers other social factors like the expected migration that will ensue after the payment of compensation to the victims for the damage inflicted during the 2017 Marawi siege and the fact that the city is the center of commerce of the province.

Additionally, as pointed out by the other speakers, Marawi is the cultural, political, religious (madaris) and educational (Mindanao State University) center of the region. An expected diaspora of outliers will take place once normalcy in infrastructure is restored. The BTA is legislating not only for the present but for the future and should be more prudent in anticipating the needs of tomorrow.

In the draft bill, Cotabato City is allocated two representatives. Marawi City is not complaining and is in fact supporting its bid for three representatives. However, consider the following: while Cotabato City has a bigger population than Marawi, the latter has a land area of 8,755 square kilometers while the former has only 176 sq. km., and Marawi has 98 barangays while Cotabato City has only 37.

To the surprise of the Marawi officials, nearly all the resource speakers who batted for Marawi were not residents of the city. The message is clear that they too see the injustice being done to the residents of the city.

Marawi is appealing to the sense of justice and fairness of the BTA. The city experienced a traumatic devastation and they need more representatives to carry the voice of the residents to the halls of the regional parliament. Two voices speak louder than one.

amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com