DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 September) – The inaugural parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will proceed as scheduled on October 13, but without the seven parliamentary district seats originally allocated for Sulu and redistributed through Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) 77 to seven other BARMM areas. The Supreme Court issued an immediate temporary restraining order (TRO) on Monday, halting the implementation of the regional law. According to the court’s press briefer, the TRO, issued during a special en banc session, bars the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) from enforcing BAA 77 pending the resolution of two petitions filed before the Supreme Court, with both parties given five non-extendible days to comment. Even prior to the TRO, Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia stated on August 28, the day BARMM interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua signed the law, that Comelec could not implement BAA 77 due to insufficient time and other constraints. Campaigning began on August 28, and Garcia confirmed that only 73 of the 80 parliamentary seats would be contested on October 13. RA 11054, the Organic Law for BARMM, originally mandated the election of 80 Members of Parliament, including 32 parliamentary district representatives, but only 25 will now be elected. BAA 77, passed by the BTA Parliament on August 19, redistricted the seven Sulu seats to Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA), increasing parliamentary districts in these areas. Section 4 of BAA 77 allows the Philippine President to appoint interim representatives for newly created districts without elected officials, a provision challenged by petitioners. Two petitions, G.R. No. E-02219 and G.R. No. E-02235, filed by Lanang T. Ali, Jr., Abdullah G. Macapaar (“Commander Bravo”), and others, question BAA 77’s constitutionality, citing violations of the Constitution, the BARMM Organic Law, and election statutes, and allege it aims to delay the BARMM elections. Both Ali and Macapaar are members of the BTA Parliament. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
