Basilan lone district Rep. Mujiv Hataman (PPAB)

Basilan lone district Rep. Mujiv Hataman has asserted that the proposed postponement of the first parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) from 2025 to 2026 is a violation of the constitutional mandate for synchronized elections.

Hataman, a deputy minority leader, said the Supreme Court (SC) laid out this rule in the 2011 case of Kida vs. Senate of the Philippines.

Based on this jurisprudence, the national and local elections should be synchronized. Only the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections are exempted from this.

“Gustuhin man nating ipagpaliban ang halalan sa BARMM, it is my opinion na hindi natin ito magagawa dahil labag ito sa mandato ng Konstitusyon na dapat ang mga halalan ay synchronized,” Hataman said in a statement on Monday, Nov. 25.

(Even if we want to postpone the BARMM elections, it is my opinion that we cannot do so because it is against the mandate of the Constitution that the elections should be synchronized.)

Under Kida vs Senate, the SC ruled that the synchronization of elections is a constitutional mandate that Congress must uphold.

“While the Constitution does not expressly state that Congress has to synchronize national and local elections, the clear intent towards this objective can be gleaned from the transitory provisions of the constitution, which show the extent to which the Constitutional Commission, by deliberately making  adjustments to the terms of the incumbent officials, sought to attain synchronization of elections,” it said.

Hataman noted that the high court included the now-defunct ARMM, now BARMM, among the elections to be synchronized as it is “a local election based on the wording and structure of the Constitution”.

With this, the Mindanao lawmaker said the SC was clear on the requirement of synchronizing the national and local elections.

“Klaro po ang sinabi ng Korte Suprema na ang synchronization of elections ay isang constitutional mandate. Ibig sabihin, ito ay obligasyon na dapat gawin, at hindi dapat labagin,” he stressed.

(The S clearly states that the synchronization of elections is a constitutional mandate. This means, it is an obligation that must be performed, and must not be violated.)

Both chambers of Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives—have pending bills pushing for the postponement of the BARMM elections from May 12, 2025 to May 11, 2026.

This cames after the recent SC ruling that excluded Sulu from the region.

Hataman, however, pointed out that this ruling was not yet final.

“Paano kung i-overturn ng [SC] ang desisyon nito sa susunod na mga panahon? Ipagpapaliban ba natin ang halalan uli?,” the congressman asked.

(What if the SC overturns its decision in the future? Shall we postpone the election again?)

“Para sa akin din ay hindi pa ito pinal, kaya dapat lamang ay ituloy natin ang halalan sa 2025,” he emphasized.

(For me this is not final yet, so we should just continue with the 2025 election.)

Hataman, a former governor of the now-defunct ARMM, urged his colleagues in Congress to reconsider the proposed deferment in order to uphold the Bangsamoro people’s right to suffrage.

“It is time for the people in the Bangsamoro region to choose their own leaders,” he continued.