Thirteen political parties vying for seats in the Bangsamoro Parliament will face off — and face the public — this Thursday, August 27, in a live debate running from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. The event will be livestreamed on the Facebook pages of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG), the Notre Dame University (NDU), and the Independent Election Monitoring Center (IEMC).

The debate arrives just ahead of the first parliamentary elections for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), a milestone moment for a region still consolidating a peace process, standing up new institutions, and trying to convince voters that self-governance can deliver visible results. Rather than a free-for-all on campaign slogans, organizers have structured the event around three broad clusters of issues that will shape the region's next term: economy and human development, peace and security, and good governance.

Economy and human development

Expect the candidates to be pressed on the everyday concerns that dominate life in the region — poverty that, despite real declines in recent years, remains stubbornly high in parts of Maguindanao del Sur and other provinces; the state of agriculture and fisheries, which employ the bulk of the region's workforce but remain underfunded and low-yield; and persistent gaps in electricity and connectivity that hold back small businesses. Land tenure, a perennial flashpoint given overlapping claims among farmers, settlers, and Indigenous communities, is also likely to come up, alongside the condition of schools, madaris, teacher hiring, and the region's still-difficult health and nutrition indicators. Questions on fair distribution of jobs, budgets, and opportunities across BARMM's mainland and island provinces round out this segment — a sensitive topic for areas like Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, which have long argued they get less than their share.

Peace and security

This section will test how well parties understand — and intend to finish — the unfinished business of the peace process. Topics likely on the table include the pending "exit agreement" between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, continuing commitments under the peace deal with the Moro National Liberation Front, and the slow work of transitional justice and reconciliation. Candidates can also expect questions on rido (clan feuds) and land-related violence, the long road to Marawi's reconstruction, the unfinished decommissioning of combatants, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Christian settlers within a Muslim-majority region. Maritime security along the Sulu and Celebes Sea corridors, the risk of violent extremism, loose firearms, and the political fallout from Sulu's exclusion from BARMM are also expected themes — the last of these a particularly emotional issue tied to the region's history and its future shape.

Good governance

This segment will probe how parties plan to run the region itself: how to raise more local revenue instead of relying almost entirely on the national block grant, how to make budgeting and spending genuinely transparent, and how to handle the corruption allegations that have already reached the Commission on Audit and parliamentary oversight bodies. Expect questions on whether parties back deeper constitutional reform to fully realize the peace agreement, how to strengthen the Shari'ah justice system, and where they stand on the constitutionally contested ban on political dynasties. Relations between the regional government and local government units, reform of the bureaucracy, electoral reform, the role of civil society, and women's participation in politics and the economy are also expected to feature.

Beyond slogans

The questions are designed to move the conversation beyond campaign rhetoric and toward the specific policy choices — on budgets, land, security, and institutions — that will define whether the Bangsamoro experiment in self-rule delivers for its constituents over the next parliamentary term. Voters and observers can follow the full exchange live starting 1:30 p.m. on August 27 via the Facebook pages of IAG, NDU, and IEMC.