Supreme Court denies bid to reverse Sulu’s exclusion from BARMM
The Supreme Court en banc has denied the motions for partial reconsideration filed by the government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the Office of the Solicitor General and other groups seeking to reverse the ruling that excluded Sulu from the BARMM.
“The decision is final and immediately executory. No further pleadings will be entertained,” Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting said at a press briefing on Tuesday after the high court’s session.
A member of the parliament of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the interim governing body of the BARMM that earlier petitioned the Supreme Court seeking to reverse its September ruling separating Sulu from the region, said they were deeply saddened by the denial of their motion for reconsideration.
Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, the BARMM health minister and member of the Bangsamoro Parliament, said the high court ruling on the exit of Sulu was “a very sad page of the Bangsamoro history.”
“This is the lesson of a lifetime. Be mindful of what you wish for, we may regret it sooner or later,” he said, in a veiled swipe at Sulu politicians who spearheaded the petition against the province’s inclusion in the BARMM after its voters rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) during the plebiscite in January 2019.
In its decision issued on Sept. 9, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the BOL but ruled that Sulu province is not part of the BARMM after the province voted against the law’s ratification.
Enacted on July 27, 2018, the BOL established the BARMM as a political entity and defined its basic governmental structure. The creation of the region and its territorial boundaries took effect following a plebiscite, in which a majority of voters approved the law.
The plebiscite was held on Jan. 21, 2019, covering areas of the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), along with Isabela City in Basilan and Cotabato City.
In shock
Another plebiscite followed on Feb. 6, 2019, in Lanao del Norte, select municipalities in North Cotabato and other areas seeking voluntary inclusion in the BARMM.
While the majority of ARMM voters ratified the law, Sulu rejected it. Despite this, the province was included in the BARMM, prompting them to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.
“The Court ruled that the Bangsamoro Organic Law is constitutional because it does not establish BARMM as a separate state from the Philippines. The law does not grant BARMM the power to engage in foreign relations or its own sovereignty,” the high court said.
The high tribunal’s decision came as a “shock” to several Bangsamoro leaders, with one lawmaker saying that Sulu’s exclusion endangered the foundation of autonomy in Muslim Mindanao.
“With the departure of Sulu, the remaining provinces must now ask themselves whether the door has been opened for their own departure. The cracks in this collective struggle for autonomy may undo the decades of effort that brought us to this point. We all find ourselves back in square one,” Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong earlier said. —WITH A REPORT FROM EDWIN O. FERNANDEZ
