PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. has certified as urgent the approval of the Senate version of the measure resetting the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections.
The House of Representatives approved its version of the bill in December last year.
Acting Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said the President has sent a letter to Senate President Francis Escudero certifying as urgent the approval of Senate Bill No. 2942, entitled “An Act Resetting the First Regular Elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Amending for the Purpose Article XVI, Section 13 of Republic Act No. 11054, Otherwise known as the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as amended.”
Speaker Martin Romualdez and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Secretary and presidential adviser on legislative affairs Mark Leandro Mendoza were copy furnished of the President’s letter, Chavez added.
“Given recent legal developments surrounding the issue, the President said the move would address the urgent need of the Bangsamoro transitional government to realign its governance structure. It will also ensure that the region’s aspirations for unity, inclusivity, and genuine autonomy are achieved,” he said.
The Senate version of the bill seeks to reset the BARMM polls to October 13, 2025. It likewise proposes that next BARMM election be held and synchronized with the 2028 national elections, and every three years thereafter.
The House version, on the other hand, postponed the region’s parliamentary elections to May 11, 2026.
The BARMM elections is supposed to be held in May this year, simultaneous with the midterm polls.
‘IMPORTANT’
The Senate approved SBN 2942 on second reading on Tuesday night and is scheduled to pass it on third and final reading on Monday, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito yesterday said.
“Already finished it last night (Tuesday night) on 2nd reading and it will be for 3rd reading by Monday,” Ejercito said in a Viber message to reporters.
He said the President’s certification is “not anymore needed but it’s a message from the Palace of how important the measure is.”
Senate President Francis Escudero, in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, said the President’s certification is necessary to hasten the approval of the measure, pointing out that the Senate may not have enough time to pass it before Congress goes on break starting February 8 for the campaign period.
Congress will resume regular sessions on June 2 to June 13 and will go on sine die adjournment from June 14 to July 27.
The First Regular Session of the 20th Congress will start on July 28.
“Kung mag adjourn kami, wala nang sapat na oras para ito’y i-reset pa… pag-resume namin sa May 20, tapos na ang eleksiyon (If we adjourn without approving the bill, we will no longer have the time to reset [the BARMM elections]… when we resume on May 20, the elections will be done by then),” Escudero said.
The Senate chief said the postponement of the regional elections is needed to give the Bangsamoro Transition Authority ample time to re-allocate the seven parliamentary seats allotted for Sulu, which the Supreme Court has ruled is not part of the BARMM.
He said it will allow law enforcement agencies to lay out a separate security plan to ensure the orderly and peaceful conduct of the polls.
To hasten the approval of the measure, Escudero suggested that the House can adopt the Senate version so they can forego bicameral conference discussions.
“Kapag ayaw nila, magba-bicam kami tapos aaprubahan yung bicam ng magkabilang Kamara (If they do not adopt our version, we will have to convene the bicameral conference committee, the committee report of which will still have to be ratified by both chambers),” he said.
Elections chairman George Garcia said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) now has a clearer picture where the direction of the proposal to defer the BARMM polls is headed.
“This is a welcome development since we now have a clearer picture if the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections will push through or not,” said Garcia.
“We hope it will be more definite soon if the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections will be reset or not so that we can fully focus on the National and Local Elections,” he added.
Garcia said that prior to the President’s certification, the poll body was still unsure on whether to go full blast with their preparations or not.
“We thought, all along, that the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections will push through,” he said.
Garcia said that if the BARMM polls is postponed, this would have no impact on its current preparations for the May national and local elections, noting that they have already pushed back the schedule of the printing of BPE ballots until all those for the May polls are completed.
“We instructed our Printing Committee to set aside first the printing of the ballots for the parliamentary elections, although printing for Bangsamoro for the national and local elections will continue,” he said. – With Raymond Africa and Gerard Naval
