ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider SC ruling on plebiscite ceding Cotabato City to BARMM hailed

SC ruling on plebiscite ceding Cotabato City to BARMM hailed

Published Jan 13, 2023 01:42 pm

COTABATO CITY (PNA) –The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has welcomed a Supreme Court (SC) decision that dismissed a petition questioning the result of the 2019 plebiscite that included Cotabato City into the region.

"We are elated to receive the decision of the SC affirming the inclusion of Cotabato City in the BARMM according to the 2019 plebiscite," Naguib Sinarimbo, the BARMM interior minister and spokesperson, said on Friday, Jan. 13.

"As we have been saying, the people have spoken. And now the SC has affirmed that popular voice of our people. In the end, it will always be our people who will win," Sinarimbo, a lawyer, added.

In its Jan. 10, 2023 ruling, the SC upheld the inclusion of Cotabato City in the BARMM after the Jan. 21, 2019 plebiscite showed 38,682 individuals voted in favor of the inclusion, while 24,994 individuals were against it.

“Subsequently, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared the ratification of the Organic Law and the incorporation of Cotabato City in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region,” the SC said in a press statement released on Thursday, Jan. 12.

The SC said Amil P. Sula, Gaspar S. Asi, and Hussein K. Malik Sr. filed a Petition for Certiorari, Prohibition, and Mandamus, with an Application for a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction, on Feb. 28, 2019 before the SC against the Comelec, in its official capacity as the National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers.

The petition questioned the conduct of the plebiscite, the inclusion of Cotabato City in the BARMM, and the ratification of the organic law.

In dismissing the petition, the SC ruled that the poll body complied with the requirements of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in conducting a plebiscite.

The decision emphasized the constitutional mandate of the Comelec to guarantee the proper exercise of the right of suffrage which the SC will not interfere with if there is no grave abuse of discretion.

The High Tribunal also said the petitioners failed to substantiate with the necessary evidence their allegations of fraud in the conduct of the plebiscite.

“The mere allegation that the inclusion of Cotabato City in the newly-formed BARMM was not the true intention of the voters of Cotabato City will not persuade this court to overturn the actions of the Comelec,” the SC ruling stated.

Related Tags

BARMM plebiscite SC Cotabato City 2019
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.