BARMM Parliament members hope for a holdover appointment from Marcos

IN NEED OF NEW MANDATE The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament members, in a session at the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City, on Oct. 21, elected Member of Parliament Mohammad Yacob as the new speaker, succeeding Pangalian Balindong who died on Oct. 2. But the appointments of the BTA members are to expire on Oct. 30 unless extended by President Marcos. —PHOTO FROM BANGSAMORO GOVERNMENT FACEBOOK PAGE

COTABATO CITY—Some members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) are still hopeful that President Marcos will give them a holdover appointment as the official end of their terms of office on Oct. 30 nears.

“If given the chance, we want to continue serving in a holdover capacity until the next elections,” one parliament member told the Inquirer, requesting that he remain unidentified.

Most of the current BTA members, when asked by Inquirer, favored the extension of their term until the next elections, which has been moved to at most March next year.

Newly elected BTA Speaker Mohammad Yacob, sought for comment, would only say that the fate of all the BTA members would be in the hands of President Marcos now that they were nearing the end of their terms and still without the much-awaited first elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Republic Act No. 12123, which amended RA 11054, otherwise known as the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao sets the term limit of BTA members up to Oct. 30 this year, had the first BARMM parliamentary elections pushed through on Oct. 13, as scheduled.

But last Oct. 1, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the Bangsamoro Autonomy Acts Nos. 58 and 77 or the Bangsamoro redistricting law, effectively postponing the Oct. 13 elections to not later than March 31 next year.

So, who would govern the BARMM if the term of the current BTA members would finally end on Oct. 30?

“It all depends on the President, whether he will appoint new members or allow the current members to stay in holdover capacity,” Yacob said during a news conference here Friday. “Our appointment is in the hands of the President based on the existing legal process,” Yacob added.

Presidential discretion

Under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro that led to the creation of the BARMM, the President shall appoint 41 nominees from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and 39 from the national government to compose the BTA.

Member of the Parliament Mohagher Iqbal, chief of MILF peace panel that negotiated peace with the government, said the MILF recognized the President’s “general supervisory authority” over the BARMM, especially during the transition, where all members of the Parliament are appointed by him.

“We fully recognize the power and authority of the President, assuredly without even an iota of reservation; and we will always seek his wisdom and guidance on many issues,” Iqbal said.

He was hoping, though, that the President would continue to observe the number of nominees prescribed by the Bangsamoro Organic Law, or 41 nominees from the MILF and 39 nominees from the government to compose the BTA.