Senators split on deferment of 2025 BARMM polls


Two senators have expressed differing views regarding the deferment of the 2025 parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri said on Monday, Nov. 4, that postponing BARMM polls through a bill would be a very difficult task to do given the tight legislative schedule left due to the budget as well as the upcoming 2025 elections.

"I also know that an extension is not popular with the locally elected leaders and could cause a backlash and therefore we should study that proposal very carefully. I will await the proponents’ explanation in the coming week," Zubiri said in a message to reporters.

He mentioned that when they extended the term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) last time, they were told that it is only one extension due to the pandemic where they weren’t able to perform their functions due to the lockdowns.

"As the principal author and sponsor of the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law), I found that justifiable then. However, today is a different story. We promised then, during the extension that we would do it only once as not to subdue the real people’s will that can only be determined through an electoral process," Zubiri said.

"Therefore, we need to know what their justification is for the extension and if it merits an extension,” he added.

Meanwhile, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero filed a bill to formalize his proposal seeking to defer the BARMM polls in view of the recent Supreme Court ruling excluding Sulu from the regional group.

BARMM’s first parliamentary election is scheduled for 2025, but Escudero is pushing to have it on May 11, 2026, to allow the region to reconfigure its jurisdictions as well as reallocate the seats of its 80-member parliament following the High Court’s ruling cutting off Sulu from the BARMM.

“Importanteng magawa ‘yan para mabigyan ng notipikasyon na ang ating mga kababayan dun sa BARMM kaugnay ng balak ng Kongreso na ipagpaliban ang eleksyon at ang pangunahing dahilan ay ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema kaugnay ng lalawigan ng Sulu (It's crucial to take action on this so that our countrymen in the BARMM are notified about the planned postponement of elections by Congress, and the main reason behind it is the Supreme Court's decision regarding the province of Sulu),” said Escudero.

According to Escudero, he is optimistic that President Marcos will certify as urgent his proposal—Senate Bill No. 2862—given the importance of the measure and the tight schedule of the Senate and the House of Representatives for the remainder of the 19th Congress.

Escudero pointed out in his proposed bill that the recent decision of the Supreme Court “provides a compelling reason to postpone the Bangsamoro regular elections given its legal implications on the exclusion of Sulu from the autonomous region.”

“This ruling may require a substantial correction of existing laws, particularly RA No. 11054, and the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2024 (BAA No. 58, 2024), referring to the allocation of the statutory mandated eighty (80) seats in the Bangsamoro Parliament,” the Senate President explained.

In its resolution, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but also declared that the province of Sulu was not part of the BARMM after the latter rejected the law in the plebiscite held in 2019. The province of Lanao del Norte, municipalities in North Cotabato, and other areas had petitioned for voluntary inclusion in the BARMM.

Most provinces comprising the former Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or ARMM ratified the law except for Sulu, but it was still made a part of the BARMM.

The BARMM parliament has established 32 parliamentary districts in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City, the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province, and in Sulu.

A total of 80 members of the parliament will be elected from the 32 parliamentary districts, including the seven in Sulu.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has started receiving certificates of candidacy for the 2025 BARMM parliamentary elections and will continue to do so until November 9 while waiting for the action of Congress on the possible postponement of the polls.

Apart from the removal of Sulu from the BARMM, Escudero said the hearings to be conducted by the Senate could also serve to clarify the issues surrounding the move of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority parliament to create a new province called the Kutawato Province, consisting of eight newly-formed municipalities that were part of the Special Geographic Area in the BARMM.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that, as in the past, they will defer to the wisdom of the legislature regarding the BARMM polls.

"A bill is not yet a law. So we will proceed with all the activities in relation to election preparation for the BARMM," he said.