ELECTIONS chairman George Garcia yesterday said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is pushing forward with its preparations for the first regular parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Unless a law is passed by Congress, “our preparations shall proceed as scheduled,” Garcia said in reaction to the resolution adopted by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA)Parliament requesting the Senate and the House of Representatives to postpone the region’s first regular parliamentary elections.
The term of the BTA is set to end on June 30, 2025. If Congress agrees to defer the polls, its term will be extended until June 30, 2028.
The BARMM polls will see the election of the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament.
Garcia said the filing period for the certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the BPE, which will be from November 4 to 9, is all set.
“We are just reviewing all security preparations so that necessary adjustment can be made,” he said.
Asked if there are reported threats in the BARMM, he said there is none so far.
“But complacency has no place when the will of the people is at stake,” he added.
BTA Floor Leader and Committee on Rules chairperson Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba said the call for poll deferment seeks to allow key issues in the Bangsamoro to be adequately addressed.
“The call for extending further the transition period stems from the legal, administrative, and political challenges presently confronting the region,” said Dumama-Alba.
The BTA Resolution No. 641 was approved during the 79th session of the third regular session of the body last Tuesday.
