Bill postponing first BARMM elections until 2025 clears Senate
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Monday night approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to reset the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's first elections from May 2022 to May 2025.
Fifteen senators voted in favor of Senate Bill No. 2214 while three lawmakers, namely Sens. Panfilo Lacson, Manny Pacquiao, and Ralph Recto, voted against it. Sen. Imee Marcos abstained.
If enacted, the bill would amend a provision of RA 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law stipulating that the Bangsamoro government synchronize its first elections with national elections in 2022.
It also extends the transition period in the new region by three years, during which the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, new members of which shall be appointed by the president in 2022, "shall continue as the interim government" in the BARMM.
A House of Representatives panel approved a counterpart measure last month.
The BARMM was created when a plebiscite approved the BOL in 2019.
It was for this reason that Lacson voted against resetting the elections, saying: "[I]t is my belief, that postponing the election should also be in accordance with the mandate of the people of the [BARMM] which should be decided in a plebiscite."
However, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Francis Tolentino, cited the Commission on Elections and the Department of Justice, both of which have acknowledged the difficulty of administering parliamentary elections in the region without an electoral code.
“The allocation of elective positions for the BARMM parliamentary elections cannot yet be determined at this point due to the unavailability of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code,” the Comelec said in a resolution issued on Aug. 11. — Bella Perez-Rubio with a report from The STAR
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