SC ruling on ARMM polls out today

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court is expected to rule today on the constitutionality of Republic Act 10153, the law synchronizing the elections at the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with the May 2013 mid-term elections.

SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the consolidated petitions of House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Datu Michael Kida of the Maguindanao Federation of Autonomous Irrigators Association, poll lawyer Romulo Macalintal and former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr. questioning the constitutionality of RA 10153 were included in the high court’s full court session this morning.

“There is a resolution already circulating for deliberation of the justices. The court is also cognizant of the urgency of this matter so the decision could be handed down tomorrow,” he said in an interview yesterday.

The SC earlier allowed outgoing ARMM officials to keep their posts pending judicial review of the law.

The high court is also expected to rule on the temporary restraining order it issued last Sept. 13 on the appointment of officers-in-charge in the region.