BARMM parliament pressed for time to prepare for polls
COTABATO CITY—All eyes are on the parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which elected a new Speaker on Tuesday, raising hopes the regional legislature can now buckle down to work to address issues relating to the holding of its first parliamentary elections.
Mohammad Yacob, who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) as a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) nominee since 2019, was unanimously elected during the session convened and presided over by Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua to elect a new leader of the parliament following the death of Speaker Pangalian Balindong on Oct. 2.
Apart from electing Yacob, the parliament also designated MPs Jose Lorena and Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba as deputy speakers, and MPs John Anthony Lim and Ameer Rakim as floor leader and deputy floor leader, respectively.
With its new leadership organized, the parliament is now expected to craft a law creating parliamentary districts in Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi provinces, the Special Geographic Area and Cotabato City, in all totaling 32, or 40 percent of the 80-seat regional legislature.
In a Sept. 30 ruling, the Supreme Court voided Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) Nos. 58 and 77, which provided for the creation of parliamentary districts. The decision meant that these local laws could not become bases for electing parliamentary district representatives.
The high court said BAA 58 was based on an outdated framework in that it still included in the allocation of seats Sulu province which it had ruled last year as not part of the BARMM because majority of its voters rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law during the 2019 plebiscite.
BAA 77, on the other hand, created districts out of areas in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Cotabato City “that were neither contiguous nor adjacent,” per the requirement of law.
Without a valid districting law, the high court called off the Oct. 13 elections set by Congress, and gave the parliament until Oct. 30 to come up with a new measure.
Compliance
The court also set the new regional election schedule as not later than March 31 next year.
“The ball really is in the hands of the (Bangsamoro Transition Authority) whether the BARMM election will push through or be delayed anew,” lawyer Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, earlier said, adding that the parliament would find it difficult to meet the high court’s time frame for legislating a new districting law.
“For me, it’s difficult to comply with the terms of the Supreme Court, in practical terms and legally,” added Bacani, one of the convenors of the Independent Election Monitoring Center.
“If that is not viable, does it mean the BARMM polls would be held in 2028? The date set by the Supreme Court for Comelec (Commission on Elections) to hold the balloting in March 2026 have some intervening events, like February is a fasting month and [in] March [there] is Holy Week. These are issues that must be considered,” he said.
The parliament, according to Bacani, needs to submit its response to the high court before Oct. 30. He explained that it is important to erase the distrust building in the minds of the BARMM electorate about the seemingly constant delays in holding the regional elections.
Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia had said that in consideration of the March 31 schedule, the districting law must already be passed and signed by Nov. 30.
That should give the poll body enough time for setting and receiving certificates of candidacy, conducting voter education, and all the logistical preparations, he said.
To help expedite the legislation of a new districting law, MP Rasol Mitmug had already called on interested parties to submit position papers and even held consultations in the region.
