AFTER four postponements, the Senate and the House of Representatives are looking at a September date, the second Monday of this year, as the target schedule for the first parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The Senate plenary and Committee on Local Government held legislative hearings to deliberate measures concerning the scheduling, readiness and legal framework of the first regular parliamentary elections in BARMM.
The postponements have put elections in limbo with various Supreme Court petitions questioning governance issues in BARMM.
These hearings form part of Congress’ constitutional oversight to ensure the proper implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), protection of the peace process, and institutional and electoral preparedness.
A major issue discussed was the Supreme Court decision excluding Sulu province from BARMM, which created structural complications.
This required a new districting bill that put the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on a schedular bind to prepare ballots and other electoral activities.
The finalized parliamentary districting law is also crucial because a) it determines seat allocation; b) it guides voter representation; and c) it enables Comelec to finalize election preparations.
The Comelec earlier suspended candidacy certificates filing due to this gap.
During Senate hearings, the Comelec reported logistical requirements:
– At least eight months preparation timeline.
– Updating automated counting machine systems.
– Accreditation of political parties.
Choosing the date of the election was among four points Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri cited in his recap of the committee hearing.
BARMM bills BAA 86 and other related BAAs have complied with the Supreme Court decision, the Constitution, the BOL and other existing laws.
The Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) 86 is the new districting law passed by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority last month. The two previous districting bills were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last Sept. 30.
The plebiscite (on) the division of the municipality of Datu (Odin) Sinsuat also impacts on districting.
Another issue is on the BARMM elections synchronizing with national elections.
The House committee recommended the desynchronization of the BARMM polls from the national and local elections.
BARMM voters are to elect 80 members of parliament: 40 political party representatives, 32 single district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.
The BARMM is a product of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, after 17 years of negotiations.
The CAB’s enabling law, Republic Act 11054, or the Organic Act for the BARMM, provides for eight reserved seats for sectoral representatives: two each for NMIP and settler communities; and one each for women, youth, traditional leaders and ulama.
A vital issue affecting minority Christians in BARMM is the manner of electing sectoral representatives.
Interest groups led by lawyer Mary Ann Arnado question the election by parliament than sectoral assemblies which she says will practically take away the reserved seats for the marginalized sectors and “leave us all at the mercy of the majority who can now dictate who will be representing the settlers in the parliament,” adding that this effectively forecloses the seats reserved for settlers.
“It is called reserved precisely because there is no way Christians will be able to compete with the majority in a popular election. We are no strangers to the elections in the Philippines, especially in the BARMM. Instead of the promised electoral reform, this will slide back to the usual ways,” Arnado said.
She asked the Senate to “help us secure what is rightfully reserved for the marginalized sector. Give to the women what is due for the women, give to the youth what is reserved for them, and give to the Christian settlers what is due to us.”
