March 30 BARMM elections a go ‘at all costs’ – Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) admits that it is in a “quandary” on how it will conduct the first Bangsamoro parliamentary polls by March 30 next year.

Even then, it assured the public that the upcoming elections, which is a significant milestone in the Bangsamoro peace process, will be held “at all costs” once the regional legislative assembly is able to pass a law creating single-representative parliamentary districts where 32 of 80 members of parliament will be elected.

READ: SC urged to resolve cases linked to BARMM polls

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said the poll body was facing legal and logistical challenges after the Bangsamoro parliament failed to pass the measure on Nov. 30.

In a Sept. 30 ruling, the Supreme Court had reset the regional elections to “not later than March 31, 2026” after it invalidated two laws creating parliamentary districts: Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA)No. 58 for still including Sulu province in the allocation of seats, and BAA 77 for creating districts out of localities that are not adjacent and adjoining as required by law.

The court had ruled that Sulu, which rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law in the 2019 plebiscite, was not part of the autonomous region.

In its September ruling, the high court gave the Bangsamoro parliament until Oct. 31 this year to create the 32 parliamentary districts. For the Comelec, Nov. 30 was still an acceptable timeframe. For Bangsamoro interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, Dec. 12 was the viable target.

Missing deadline

As things stand as of Tuesday, the parliament is bound to miss the third deadline with the committee on local government still scheduled to hold public consultations in Maguindanao del Norte province on Dec. 12 to discuss six bills proposing to create parliamentary districts.

“We are really worried now … The problem is, if we pass a districting law later, it might violate [current] laws,” Garcia said. “We have Republic Act No. 8189, the Continuing Registration Law, and it says in one of the provisions that alterations are prohibited 120 days before elections.”

“So, if the election is on March 30, which is more or less what we set as the schedule for the Bangsamoro [polls], the law will be violated. Currently, we admit, the Comelec really is in quandary on what will happen in the Bangsamoro,” he added.

But with a districting law enacted, Garcia said the poll body “can find a way to have an election on March 30 at all costs.”

“However, if they make other changes in the Bangsamoro polls, such as the accreditation of political parties, accreditation of sectoral organizations … if they once again open the filing of petitions … it looks like we can’t hold it by March 30,” the Comelec chair explained.

Garcia acknowledged that the parliament has absolute discretion when it comes to laws regarding the Bangsamoro polls. However, he said that the commission was only able to account for a new districting law, noting that the passage of other election-related legislation would affect its preparations for the upcoming polls.

“When it comes to procurement, we do not have much problem if the only change is the new districting law,” he said. “According to Republic Act No. 12123, the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections are just a continuation of the May 12 polls. This means whoever leased the [automated vote-counting] machines to Comelec, whoever leased the transmission, will be the same.”

If there is a change in the number of accredited political parties or sectoral organizations, Garcia said the Comelec would need at least six months to prepare a new source code for the vote-counting machines as well as for field testing and mock elections.

Appeal

Recognizing the predicament faced by the Comelec, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had urged the Bangsamoro parliament to fast-track the districting measure.

“Timely action will demonstrate a commitment to the welfare of the Bangsamoro constituents and to building a more unified and empowered society,” MILF Chair Ahod Ebrahim said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the timely passage of a districting law would send a convincing signal to Congress to enact a law setting the date of the first parliamentary elections in the BARMM at the earliest possible time, hopefully within 2026.

Speaking during the public consultations in Cotabato City on Monday, lawyer Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance and a city resident, stressed the importance of fast-tracking the measure.

“We should push the election next year. We appeal to the parliament to fast-track the districting bill, comply with the issues raised by the Supreme Court, and ensure that the March election will be realized,” he said. /cb