DAVAO, Philippines – Journalists based in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as well as other Mindanao-based journalists gathered in Davao City to tackle challenges in covering the predominantly Muslim region, especially in light of its first regional elections in 2025.

Organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), the two-day gathering on Monday and Tuesday, February 12-13, was part of a series of informal round-table discussions that began in late 2023.

Carmela Fonbuena, PCIJ executive director, said the discussions were initiated to better prepare journalists for the upcoming BARMM elections which will be held simultaneously with the national and local elections next year.

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For the May 2025 elections, residents of the BARMM will not only vote for national, provincial, city, and town officials but also choose representatives to the autonomous region’s 80-member parliament, a first for the relatively new Bangsamoro region.

The BARMM Parliament, based on the law that created the special region, is composed of 40 party representatives, 32 district representatives, and eight sectoral representatives. At present, the BARMM is being run by the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) whose members were appointed by the President.

Mindanao’s media, Fonbuena said, will therefore play a critical role as BARMM residents cast their votes, determining the region’s aspirations for peace and development.

The journalists have identified key issues that affect how, especially those from outside the region, cover the BARMM.

Safety and security, lack of transparency, access to data, partisanship, religious biases, and linguistic barriers were among the issues they raised.

Thirty-nine journalists from the different provinces of the BARMM took part in the Davao event, dubbed “Strengthening Press Freedom in the Bangsamoro,” which received support from the United Kingdom and Asia Foundation.

Similar gatherings involving journalists from the two Maguindanao provinces, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Norte, and the cities of Cotabato, Zamboanga and Iligan, and Cagayan de Oro City have been held since late 2023. – Rappler.com

JB Deveza, a communications teacher at Xavier University and former editor-in-chief of the now defunct SunStar-Cagayan de Oro, is an Aries Rufo Journalism fellow for 20223-2024.