Journos hold forum to prepare for the 2025 Barmm polls

By JB R. Deveza
Contributor

ORGANIZED by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), the two-day gathering last February 12-13 in this city was part of a series of informal round-table discussions that kicked off with an RTD in Cotabato City by journalists from the two Maguindanao provinces and from Cotabato City November last year.

Two other RTDs were held in Zamboanga and Iligan cities participated by journalists from the Zamboanga peninsula and from the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi and journalists from Lanao del Norte, Iligan City, and Cagayan de Oro City respectively earlier this year.

According to Carmela Fonbuena, PCIJ executive director, the RTDs were initiated to better prepare journalists for the upcoming regional parliamentary elections which will be held in along with the national and local elections next year.

For the May 2025 elections, residents of the Barmm will not only vote for national and local leaders but also pick leaders that will sit in the autonomous region’s 80-member parliament, a first for the region.

The Barmm Parliament will be composed of 40 party representatives, 32 district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.

The media, Fonbuena said, will therefore play a critical role as Barmm residents cast their votes which will determine the region’s aspirations for peace and development.

Journalists had earlier identified key issues that affect how journalists, especially non natives of the region, cover the Barmm.

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

Dubbed “Strengthening Press Freedom in the Bangsamoro,” the RTDs were jointly funded by the United Kingdom government and the Asia Foundation.

Thirty nine journalists from the different provinces of the Barmm took part in the event.