MANILA, Philippines — A ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but excluding Sulu from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is immediately executory, according to the Supreme Court.
SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting yesterday said the ruling, promulgated on Sept. 9, “must take effect immediately.”
“Immediately executory means the decision should be fully implemented despite a pending motion for reconsideration. There would be no reason for the court to say it was immediately executory if it intended otherwise,” Ting said.
The Bangsamoro Attorney General’s Office filed two motions in October, asking the high court to reconsider the matter.
The Senate and the House of Representatives, have filed separate bills to defer the BARMM parliamentary elections from May 2025 to May 2026.
The Bangsamoro law, which was enacted in July 2018, provided for the establishment of the BARMM as a political entity and its corresponding basic governmental structure.
This was followed by a plebiscite on Jan. 21, 2019, covering areas comprising the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Isabela City in Basilan and Cotabato City.
Another plebiscite was held on Feb. 6, 2019 in Lanao del Norte, municipalities in North Cotabato, and other areas that petitioned for voluntary inclusion in the BARMM.
All provinces and areas covered by the plebiscites, except Sulu, ratified the law.
The provincial government of Sulu filed a petition questioning its inclusion in the Bangsamoro region.
The high tribunal said it was wrong to include Sulu in the BARMM as the law provides that only provinces, cities and special geographic areas voting favorably in the plebiscite should be included in the autonomous region.
Basilan gov wants polls postponed
Meanwhile, the governor of Basilan has expressed support for the Senate and House proposals to defer the first BARMM parliamentary elections.
In a text message, Gov. Hadjiman Salliman yesterday told journalists that resetting the BARMM elections would be good for the Mindanao peace process.
Salliman said the postponement would give voters adequate time to fully understand the intricacies of a parliamentary election.
He said moving the election from May 2025 to May 2026 would give lawmakers time to amend the regional law that established parliamentary districts affected by an SC ruling that removed Sulu from BARMM.
Salliman said the poll postponement would also allow regional lawmakers to work out the creation of an additional parliamentary district in Lamitan as requested by local communities.
“The Bangsamoro government and its constituent-communities also need time to put in place facets for strong governance in the autonomous region. Holding the regional elections too soon can only cause fragmentation of local communities,” he said.
Two members of the interim Bangsamoro parliament, Suharto Ambolodto and Baintan Ampatuan, have also expressed support for the postponement of the BARMM polls
Ampatuan said she is in favor of Senate Bill 2862 and House Bill 11034 filed by Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez, respectively, to defer the electoral exercise.
Earlier, Ampatuan authored a Bangsamoro parliament resolution urging the Senate and the House to extend the transition period from 2025 to 2028.
Ambolodto said regional lawmakers also needed to make adjustments on the configuration of the parliamentary districts in the Bangsamoro region, to cushion the effects of the SC decision.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and election watchdog groups, on the other hand, are against a postponement of the polls.
In a resolution of its central committee, the MILF, which is running the BARMM government, said it is ready for the elections and has fielded candidates. — John Unson