‘Piecemeal’ conduct of Bangsamoro polls unlawful – Comelec

MANILA, Philippines—Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Wednesday stressed that a “piecemeal” conduct of the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections  would be unlawful as he addressed calls from election watchdogs to proceed with the elections on Oct. 13.

“There have been calls for the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections not to be postponed completely. They said that some aspects can continue, such as the election for political parties and sectoral organizations,” Garcia said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum. 

“The belief of the Comelec is that a piecemeal conduct of the elections is prohibited…if the Bangsamoro Organic Law said that there should be 80 members, then 80 members should be elected and not piecemeal. If we are to conduct the election, it should be the election as a whole, in the entire Bangsamoro,” he explained. 

READ: Group bucks putting off BARMM elections

Garcia’s statement comes after election watchdogs such as the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) Philippines urged the Comelec to conduct the elections on Oct. 13, arguing that there was no legal basis for its postponement.

The Comelec previously said in a resolution that it would seek postponement of the Bangsamoro polls by invoking Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code, which allows the suspension of elections “for any serious cause.”

Reasons for a postponement may include violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure and other analogous causes that would make it impossible to hold a “free, orderly and honest” elections.

According to Garcia, the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) by the Supreme Court, which prevented the implementation of Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 77 that redistributes the seven parliamentary seats originally allotted for Sulu, constitutes as force majeure.

In a statement on Wednesday, however, Namfrel said the use of force majeure “lacks sufficient legal and factual foundation,” pointing out that the “redistricting issue has been a known governance concern” since the high court ruling that excluded Sulu from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

This was echoed by Lente in an earlier comment to the Comelec resolution on Saturday, saying that the action of the Supreme Court was “not an unforeseen or unexpected event.”

READ: Supreme Court pushes back BARMM parliamentary polls

Both Namfrel and Lente said the issuance of a TRO, which only covers BAA 77, only affects the election of district seats and should not impact the polls for the party and sectoral representatives.

The two election watchdogs called on the Comelec to proceed with a partial election for party and sectoral representatives on Oct. 13, saying that a complete postponement would deny the people of the Bangsamoro region their democratic rights.

During the forum, however, Garcia reiterated that there is currently no clear law that would serve as basis for the implementation of the elections since BAA 77 has already repealed BAA 58, which was the earlier law regarding the distribution of parliamentary districts.

“It would be good to ask the group on what law the Comelec should use,” Garcia when asked to react to the statement of Lente. “

If they can answer this question, then they might be right. But for now, even the Supreme Court does not know what law should be implemented.”

The Comelec chief, however, assured the public during the forum that elections will be conducted in the Bangsamoro even if the Commission remains unsure of when it would be held. 

“The Comelec is one with the Bangsamoro in fixing everything. The promise of the Commission is that there will be an election in Bangsamoro. As to when, that is what we are waiting for in the meantime,” he said. /gsg