In the southern Philippines, a region shaped by generations of armed struggle took a fragile but consequential step on Monday, as nearly 2.4 million voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region cast ballots in their first-ever parliamentary elections. The vote fulfills the promise of a 2014 peace agreement that asked former rebels to trade weapons for representation, offering a democratic path forward for a people whose conflict has claimed roughly 150,000 lives since the 1970s. That the election proceeded at all — despite a deadly shooting the night before, an explosive device, and the discover
Bangsamoro holds historic first parliament elections amid pre-poll violence
Three people killed and 15 injured in pre-election shooting in Cotabato City on Sunday; decades of conflict have claimed approximately 150,000 lives since the 1970s.