PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Carlito Galvez, Jr. yesterday said the five-month deferment of the Bang-samoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamen-tary elections is enough time for the government to resolve all concerns related to the Supreme Court (SC) ruling excluding Sulu province from the region.
Galvez made the statement as he welcomed the ratification of the bi-cameral conference committee report that reset the BARMM parliamen-tary polls to October 13 this year, instead of holding it simultaneously with the May 12 national and local elections.
He said the five-month deferment is the Philippine government’s re-sponse to emerging realities on the ground that must be addressed, such as issues arising from the SC decision to exclude the province of Sulu from the BARMM.
“It is better to act right instead of fast-tracking the conduct of the BARMM elections, which could result in issues that may have adverse repercus-sions on the Bangsamoro peace process,” he said.
He also said the postponement provides both national and BARMM governments sufficient time to fulfill their respective commitments under all signed Bangsamoro peace agreements, as well as provide the Bang-samoro government time to institute the necessary amendments to key legislation such as the Electoral and Local Government Codes.
Galvez said among the revisions expected in the BARMM codes is the reallocation of Sulu’s seven seats to other provinces that are part of the region.
The Senate on Tuesday ratified the bicameral conference committee re-port on the bill seeking to move the first-ever BARMM parliamentary elec-tions from May 12, 2025 to October 13, 2025.
Senate deputy majority leader Joseph Victor Ejercito presented the bi-cameral report to his colleagues at the Senate, after representatives of the House of Representatives in the bicameral discussions agreed to adopt the Senate version of the measure.
“Under the reconciled version, the conferees came to an agreement to set the first regular election of the BARMM on October 13, 2025, and that the next election shall be held synchronized with the 2028 National Elec-tions and every three years thereafter,” Ejercito said.
He said the bicameral likewise agreed to adopt the Senate version for the present Bangsamoro Transition Authority to continue serving until such time their successors are “elected and qualified.”
He said the reconcile bill also mandates the BARMM government to dis-burse the share of Sulu province in the annual block grant based on the rules and regulations of the Department of Budget and Management.
“Moreover, it was also agreed that the Comelec will no longer open the filing of new certificate of candidacies or accept manifestations of intent to participate with a list of nominees, except for the seats allocated to the province of Sulu,” he also said.
“The candidates who have already filed their certificates of candidacies and the nominees for party representatives included in the certificate of nomination and acceptance of the political parties from November 4 to 9, 2024, shall be automatically considered candidates and nominees,” he added.
In a related development, Elections chairman George Garcia said it is unlikely that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will still be able to hold a plebiscite in Sulu for its possible return to the BARMM ahead of the parliamentary polls.
In a media forum in Manila, Garcia said it would be hard for the poll body to still conduct a plebiscite amid its preparations for the May 2025 na-tional and local polls, and the resetting of the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections to October 2025, and the December 2025 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
“We are always ready to follow the decision of Congress with regards to this proposal. (However), it seems we can no longer conduct the plebi-scite for the possible return of Sulu if it will be pushing through),” Garcia said.
Add to this, he said, will be the complicated process of having to include anew Sulu in the BARMM when the postponement of the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections is partly due to the need to address issues that emerged after the province’s exclusion.
“That is quite complicated. That will be a long process,” said Garcia.
Last month, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri pushed for the passage of a bill that proposes the conduct of a new plebiscite in Sulu.
Senate Bill 2915 aims to reintegrate Sulu into the BARMM after it was excluded from the autonomous region in the September 2024 ruling of the SC.
On the other hand, the same High Court ruling led to the push for the postponement of the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections as there is a need to accommodate seats previously allocated for Sulu.
On Tuesday, the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report finalizing the bill resetting the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elec-tions to October 13, 2025. – With Gerard Naval and Raymond Africa