BARIRA, Maguindanao del Norte (MindaNews / 16 April) – The long-awaited Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Bangsamoro Auronomy Act 35 or Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC) is “already promulgated,” Commission on Elections chair George Erwin Garcia said late Monday afternoon.
“Actually, we already promulgated it,” Garcia said in response to a MindaNews query at the reception hall of the 1st Marine Brigade where he offered a wreath for fallen Marines and talked about the Comelec’s Register Anywhere Program (RAP).
Before Monday, there was no announcement from the Comelec that the IRR has been promulgated.
“We only have those that need to be edited, not substantial, such as grammatical errors and things like that,” he said, adding, “and the editing, because there’s already a number, it will be published by next week.”
When was it promulgated? “It was promulgated two weeks ago,” he replied.
He said the IRR will be made public once the editing is done. “Our lawyers have been editing it for two weeks so that it’s a bit better. Planchado. So that no one can say anything.”
The Bangsamoro Electoral Code was passed by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority in March 2023. On October 19 that same year, the Comelec en banc led by Garcia went to Cotabato City for a dialogue with the Bangsamoro Study Group drafting the BEC’s IRR.
The draft IRR was formally submitted to the Comelec on November 21, 2023 for approval.
Deadlines, Timelines
Garcia’s announcement that the IRR would be released next week means there is only one week left before the April 30 deadline imposed by the law.
The BEC provides under Article IV, Section 6 that “only regional political parties duly registered and/or accredited by the Bangsamoro Registration and Accreditation Committee (BRAC), as approved by the Commission on Elections, shall participate in the parliamentary elections.”
The first election for the 80-member Bangsamoro Parliament is on May 12, 2025. Voters are to elect 40 party representatives, 32 single district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.
Under the BEC, regional political parties are supposed to submit to the Comelec through the Bangsamoro Electoral Office (BEO), a manifestation of their intent to participate in the parliamentary election of party representatives in the Bangsamoro “no later than the last working day of April of the year preceding the next parliamentary elections.”
For the May 12, 2025 elections, the deadline is on April 30, 2024.
The parties are to attach in their respective manifestations, their list of nominees, ranked from one to 40.
The BEC also mandates that a year immediately before a parliamentary national and local elections, a party “must hold a convention for the purpose of selecting their nominees in the different elective posts.” For the May 2025 elections, that means by May 12, 2024.
Filing of certificates of candidacy for next year’s polls is in October or six months from now.
As for registration of parties, the Comelec last year set December 29, 2023 as deadline for the filing of petitions for the registration of political parties and party-lists in connection with the 2025 national and local elections.
The Comelec approves all registration of political parties, including those in the Bangsamoro region. The BRAC accepts the application for registration and recommends approval to the Comelec.
On December 7, the Comelec announced through its Facebook page that the December 29 deadline does not apply to the BARMM: “The deadline is on 29 December 2023, except for regional political parties intending to register, accredit, and/or participate exclusively in the (BARMM), for which a different deadline will be fixed pending the approval of, and in accordance with, the implementing rules and regulations of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code of 2023,” the Comelec said.
The BEC also provides that regional political parties already registered with the Comelec prior to the effectivity of the Code are not required to register anew, “provided, however, that the party complies with the additional requirements provided in this code in relation to registration.”
Additional requirements include a verified list of the members of its executive, general party, and membership committees, heads of its provincial, city and municipal chapters, and their respective addresses; and a notarized list of at least 10,000 members of the party, where they manifest their collective decision to register the party by “affixing their names, signatures, and other pertinent details as determined by the Comelec.”
“We’ll speed up their accreditation process”
“It’s okay,” Garcia said last Monday, adding, “we’ll speed up their accreditation process. Because in the first place, our most important and crucial period is October. Yes. Because that’s the filing of certificates of candidacy. So, before August, I hope that everything will be clear who can run, at least in the political party.”
Several petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court (SC) to declare as unconstitutional some provisions of the BEC, among them the requirement of 10,000 membership and the high voting threshold of 4% for political parties to be entitled to a seat in the BARMM’s party representation system.
In his 46-page petition filed on December 7 before the SC, Datu Michael Mastura, former Representative of the first district of Maguindanao and former member and senior legal adviser of the MILF peace panel, asked the SC to declare as unconstitutional provisions of the BEC on additional qualifications and requirements for political parties that allegedly violate the Constitutional guarantees of equal access to public service and equal protection, and the citizens’ fundamental right of freedom of association.
He also asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction directing the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) and Chief Minister Ahod “Murad” Ebrahim, to cease and desist from implementing the questioned provisions. Ebrahim chairs the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, its peace agreement with the national government, in March 2014. The BTA is presently led by the MILF.
“Restrictive”
Mastura describes as “restrictive” the provisions on registration of political parties requiring at least 10,000 membership and the high voting threshold of 4% for political party representation.
Mastura’s petition is in relation to the main case file before the Supreme Court on June 14, 2023 by Atty. Dimnatang Pansar, et alvs. the BTA and Ebrahim. The petitioners want the SC to declare the BEC unconstitutional for similar reasons.
The BTA on February 28 passed Bangsamoro Autonomy Act 58 or the “Parliamentary Districts Act of 2024.”
The law apportioned 32 single district seats across the BARMM’s six provinces (Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi), three cities (Marawi, Lamitan and Cotabato) and Special Geographic Area comprising 63 barangays in six North Cotabato towns.
The seats are apportioned equitably based on population and land area.
The BARMM has a population of 4.94 million. A district must have at least 100,000 population.
The law provides that Lanao del Sur will have eight seats; Sulu seven; Maguindanao del Norte, four; Maguindanao del Sur, four; Basilan, three; Tawi-Tawi, three; Cotabato City, two: and one for the SGA.(Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
