SC asked to direct Comelec to continue preps for BARMM polls

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

MANILA, Philippines — A member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), along with other individuals, filed a motion before the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday seeking to direct the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to resume its preparations for the Bangsamoro elections.

The petitioners, which include (BTA) member Abdullah Macapaar, submitted the motion just days after the Comelec suspended its preparations for what should have been the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.

READ: Comelec suspends preparation for Bangsamoro parliamentary polls

This complied with the temporary restraining order (TRO) the SC issued to the poll body and the BTA in implementing the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 77.

However, in a 13-page, very urgent motion, with leave, for clarification of the temporary restraining order (TRO) and reiteration of status quo and mandatory injunction, the petitioners argued that the TRO was issued against BAA 77 and not the Comelec’s preparations.

“Because we didn’t ask for the election to be postponed—what we asked for was the new law that the Comelec cannot enforce,” one of the petitioners, Ranao Charitables Initiatives chair Maulana Mamutuk Mamutuk said in a chance interview.

“‘That’s what we wanted to stop, to give the Comelec a way to fulfill their constitutional mandate,” he added.

With this, the petitioners, through the motion, sought the SC to direct Comelec to resume its preparations and to hold the election on Oct. 13, 2025.

It also asked the SC to refrain from and desist the enforcement of the unconstitutional provisions of BAA 77. /mr