The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) establishes a parliamentary-democratic form of government in the region. Residents will elect an 80-member parliament representing different parties, districts, and sectors. These members of parliament will then elect a Chief Minister, two deputies, and a Wali, a ceremonial head. The region&rsquo;s justice system will be in consonance with the Constitution, Shari&rsquo;ah, traditional or tribal laws, and other relevant laws. Shari&rsquo;ah applies to cases involving Muslims; traditional or tribal laws to disputes of indigenous peoples; and national laws to regular courts in BARMM.&nbsp;
A new feature in the Philippine Government is the creation of a regional parliamentary government in BARMM. The Bangsamoro Parliament is comprised of 80 members: 50% shall be representatives of political parties elected; not more than 40% shall be elected from single-member districts; and at least 10% shall be reserved seats and sectoral representatives. It is worth noting that unlike the ARMM Regional Governor, the BARMM Chief Minister is not directly elected by the people, but by elected Members of Parliament - a new form of voting introduced by the BOL where people will not only be voting for a member to the Bangsamoro Parliament, but they will also be indirectly voting for the potential Chief Minister.
It is incumbent upon the transitional BARMM government to work on drafting guidelines to oversee the implementation of these mandates outlined in the BOL.&nbsp; Addressing issues such as conflicts of interest, identifying party or coalition consensus, contingencies of a minority government, changes in government mid-term, qualifications of Ministers and so forth, must be guided by administrative standards and principles.&nbsp;
Bangsamoro politicians and voters alike must see their role in a parliamentary system. Learning parliamentary principles and methods, especially getting up to speed with its lexicon, is absolutely necessary for the Bangsamoro community. For the Bangsamoro Transition Authority therefore, implementing education and training for the needed changes, specifically those concerning the new parliamentary system of government, is an urgent priority. This must be done in conjunction with the enactment of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code.

Atty. Michael Henry Yusingco discusses the importance of policymaking power of the parliament

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