MANILA, Philippines — The proposed deferral of the parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) from 2025 to 2026 was met with opposition at the Senate on Thursday.
During the hearing on resetting the first regular elections in BARMM, Secretary Carlito Galvez of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity justified the need to push for Senate Bill No. 2862, a bill that seeks to postpone BARMM’s parliamentary polls because of the recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling excluding Sulu from the region.
“The one-year election reset is also the perfect time for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to refine existing Bangsamoro policies and codes in preparation for the election. Given that several Bangsamoro policies apply to the provinces of Sulu, the BTA must be accorded ample time to review and amend these as needed,” Galvez said in his short manifestation.
According to Galvez, the proposed deferral of the parliamentary polls fits the country’s strategic effort to address security threats that “endanger the success of elections.”
“At present, we are in the process of decommissioning the former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and also the transformation of the Moro National Liberation Front,” he said.
“By covering sizable amounts of small arms and light weapons during this process, we can decrease the threats from the use of loose firearms during the election period and guarantee that election-related violence is within reasonable control of the government,” he added.
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Later into the hearing, Maguindanao del Sur Gov. Mariam Mangudadatu opposed Galvez’s pronouncements.
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“I am fortunate because I am allowed to speak the truth about what is happening in the area, in my area, but at the same time I am fearing for myself because I know the truth might trigger the armed MILF and every influential person behind this proposal,” she said in Filipino.
She then raised three points for the Senate to consider. First was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s promise that BARMM polls would no longer be canceled.
“Last February 4, the President said the first BARMM election next year should be a success. The President likewise said last April 29 that the BARMM election will push through. Why the sudden change?” she said in Filipino.
Apart from this, Mangudadatu said the MILF is currently leading the Bangsamoro government.
“But despite this violence between and among MILF groups and individuals that continue to emerge, destroying the peace and order of BARMM, there are more than 70 recorded skirmishes and encounters between and among MILF. As a result, di bababa ng 100 ang namatay simula noong 2022 (not less than 100 individuals have died since 2022),” she added.
Mangudadatu also pointed out that if extended, it would already be seven years that BARMM would function without any oversight and midterm interview as to how “they spent and used more than P500B of black grant and government fund.”
“Let us remember that this is a block grant, and it came from the taxes of the people, from every Filipino in the Philippines,” she said in Filipino.
Maguindanao del Sur Cong. Mohamad Paglas backed Mangudadatu’s remarks, asking why there is a need to fear BARMM elections.
“For me, it will be okay if there is a concrete plan. It is another extension, another government expense, another use of taxes but it is not doing anything in our region and it just causes misunderstanding,” Paglas said in Filipino.
Senate President Francis Escudero on November 4 filed Senate Bill No. 2862.
Escudero said under the bill, BARMM’s first parliamentary election is scheduled for 2025, but he is pushing to have it on May 11, 2026 to allow the region to reconfigure its jurisdictions as well as reallocate the seats of its 80-member parliament following the SC’s ruling cutting off Sulu from the BARMM.
It was met with opposition from his colleagues, particularly Sen. Imee Marcos and Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel.
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READ: In Senate, Escudero to file bill seeking to postpone BARMM polls