ELECTIONS chairman George Garcia has said the call of five of the six governors of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to postpone the October 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in the region is not sufficient to get the nod of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In an interview over the weekend, Garcia said specific grounds must be met first before the village and youth polls in a particular area can be postponed.
“The question, really, is are these grounds present in the current situation in the BARMM? If they are not, it appears there are not sufficient grounds to postpone the BSKE there,” said Garcia.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, elections can be postponed in any political subdivision can be declared if there is a “serious cause” such as violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure, and other analogous causes.
Garcia also said that an electoral exercise in an autonomous region, such as BARMM, may not be within the powers of the Comelec.
“In my opinion, if the area involved is that big, there should be a law passed postponing it,” said Garcia.
Earlier this month, Basilan Gov. Jim Hataman Salliman, Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan, Tawi-Tawi Gov. Yshmael Sali, Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr., and Maguindanao del Sur Gov. Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadat issued an urgent appeal for the postponement of the BSKE.
The provincial governors said the BSKE must be postponed in the Bangsamoro until after the decommissioning of combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have been completed.
Nevertheless, the Comelec said it is prepared to let such a call from concerned officials and individuals undergo due process.
“We will always exercise due process. We will always listen to our people in the area if they want to postpone the elections or not,” said the Comelec head.
