Two more senators on Tuesday, November 5, expressed opposition to the deferment of the 2025 parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
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.
For Senator Imee Marcos, it's time that the voice of the people must be heard.
"Importanteng marinig ang ating mga kapatid na muslim at hayaan na sila bumoto sa mga kandidatong tunay na gusto nila (It is important that our Muslim brothers and sisters are allowed to vote for the candidates they truly want)," she said in a chance interview.
She also believes that they will not resort to violence should the BARMM polls get postponed.
"Naku lagi naman tayong tinatakot na magkakagulo, magbobombahan. Ayoko ng tinatakot at ako'y naniniwala at naninindigan ako na 'yung ating kapatid na muslim ay sinantabi na ang karahasan. Ayaw na nila ng buhay ng ganon. Tapos na 'yun (We're living in fear of chaos and unrest breaking out. I don't want to fear for anything like this, and I strongly believe that our Muslim brothers have silently put an end to the violence. They no longer want a life like that – it's over)," she added.
According to Marcos, what is complicated about the BARMM polls is the huge money involved with it.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said that the BARMM elections must push through.
He added that he has not yet seen Escudero's bill but he will be listening to the discussions on the hearing scheduled on Thursday, Nov. 7.