President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Muslim political leaders to meet as a council and resolve the issue on proposals to postpone the elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) until 2025, said Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Once they have settled the issue, Duterte told them to come back to Malacañang for the final meeting with him on the June 24, the senator said Thursday.
According to Zubiri, the President was also largely neutral on proposals to defer the BARMM elections.
He said the President merely listened to the pros and cons on the issue in a meeting Wednesday night with the officials of BARMM headed by Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim and regional governors.
“Both sides presented their position on the matter,” said Zubiri.
He said BARMM officials presented a scenario that they have not really been able to govern and take off due to the late appointment of the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA) as well the COVID-19 pandemic, triggering several shutdowns in the region.
“Their view of postponement was supported by the Local Governments of Lanao Sur, Basilan and Tawi tawi,” related Zubiri.
However, he said those opposing the deferment headed by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan kept insisting on the need to the right of suffrage in the region. This was also acknowledged by the President, the senator said.
Sen. Francis Tolentino, Chair of the Senate Local Government, pointed out that elections may be difficult as there has been no passage of an electoral code for the region.
He said the code would define the positions and new districts at stake in the parliamentary set up provided for by the BARMM Organic Act, which he authored.
“It is the BTA who should pass this Electoral Code. So according to Sen. Tolentino, that would take time to pass and 100 days till the filing of candidacies in October would be too short a time to do so, hence the extension of the existing set up,” explained Zubiri.
According to the Senate leader, the absence of an election code means the Comelec would have no positions to elect for the region. He noted that the positions created by the ARMM have been abolished upon the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
“That’s how we ended our meeting last night. Hopefully, a consensus can be reached by then,” said Zubiri.
Tolentino said the proposed suspension of the election received “overwhelming support” not only from the BTA and local government units in the BARMM, but also from non-government organizations and civic groups.
“Indeed, the committee sees the need to extend the BARMM transition period in order to implement the political and normalization efforts embodied in the CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro). However, it is also mindful of its impact to the Bangsamoro people’s right to assert their democracy in the said region and exercise their right to suffrage,” he said.
“Although the BTA has considerably delivered some of its mandates, there is so much work to be done,” he added.
Tolentino clarified, however, that the extension of the transition period, if enacted, “does not, in any way, condone even the littlest inefficiency in public service.”