3 WOMEN MPs BACK POSTPONEMENT OF BARMM 2025 POLLS

By: The Mindanao Today (National News)

(L-R): MP Sittie Uy-Oyod, MP Baintain Ampatuan and MP Diamila Ramos
(Courtesy: Bangsamoro Parliament)

Three empowered women members of the Bangsamoro Parliament expressed support for the proposed postponement of the first-ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

In a social media post on Monday, Bangsamoro lawmaker Diamila Disimban Ramos firmly stood behind the recently passed resolution of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority requesting congress to postpone the 2025 regional parliamentary elections and extend BARMM's transition period until 2028.

“This request is based on important matters that need to be resolved to maintain peace and progress in our region. The legal issues surrounding the Supreme Court's decision to exclude Sulu from BARMM have raised questions about the implementation of our laws, particularly the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, as well as the upcoming parliamentary elections. We need to provide adequate time for our electoral system to ensure it is stable, inclusive, and fully understood by our Bangsamoro constituents,” she said.

She added that they have still recognized and respect the authority of the Philippine Legislative Branch and the President to decide on this matter.

“We trust in their wisdom in safeguarding our peace process and finding the right solutions to the legal challenges facing our region,” she added.

MP Ramos, as the current Chairperson of the BTA’s Committee on Women, Youth, Children, and Persons with Disabilities, shared that this proposed measure to postpone the 2025 regional parliamentary elections will sustain the gains of peace process, governance, and development in BARMM.

“Our achievements in recent years—the reduction of poverty, economic growth, and continued strengthening of our regional government—demonstrate that the Bangsamoro is capable of self-governance. However, we need additional time to ensure these gains become sustainable,” she emphasized.

In the same statement, Parliamentarian Baintan Ampatuan expressed her support for the resetting of the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections next year, as well as for Senate Bill No. 2862 filed by Senate President Francis Escudero and House Bill 11034 filed by House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

“It is worth noting that MP Ampatuan is the principal author of two key Bangsamoro Parliament resolutions advocating for the extension of the transition period and the postponement of the first parliamentary elections; these are BTA’s approved resolution No. 505 and Parliament Resolution No. 649,” she said.

MP Ampatuan, as an advocate for the region’s progress and stability, remains committed to upholding the best interest of the Bangsamoro people.

“While she [MP Ampatuan] firmly supports the resetting of the elections, she respectfully defers to the wisdom of Congress in determining the most appropriate timeline for conducting the first parliamentary elections in BARMM,” she added.

Similarly, MP Sittie Fahanie Uy-Oyod is in favor of resetting the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

“As stated in Parliamentary Resolution No. 505, ‘the transition period plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth establishment of BARMM as an autonomous political entity, with enhanced self-governance and jurisdiction over the Bangsamoro region, free from legal impediments;’ moreover, ‘it is imperative to ensure that political parties, duty bearers, and the Bangsamoro electorate are prepared for the first regular Parliamentary elections,” she said.

“As such, the undersigned supports the resetting of the parliamentary elections for the same reasons stated in Parliamentary Resolution No. 505, as well as the legal uncertainties brought by the now pending Motion for Reconsideration of the Supreme Court regarding the issues of inclusion/exclusion of the Province of Sulu in the BARMM,” MP Uy-Oyod affirmed.

Yet to finalize

Senator Grace Poe stated on Monday that the BARMM's interim regional government has yet to finalize its position on postponing its first parliamentary elections.

Poe made this statement during the Senate plenary debates for the 2025 General Appropriations Bill in response to Senate Minority Leader Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III's question on the BARMM leadership's stance on the plan to postpone the elections.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President stated its support for Senate Bill 2862 and House Bill 11034, which call for the deferment of the BARMM 2025 elections until 2026, noting the need for more time to review matters surrounding the elections, which consider the need to resolve "institutional and statutory issues" and a review of laws for the elections.

"Taking into account the now new Bangsamoro territorial jurisdiction by virtue of the said decision, there is a need for a new enabling autonomy act for redistricting to reflect Sulu’s exclusion from the BARMM and ensure the required proportional representation among the remaining districts," OSAP wrote in its position paper.

"OSAP finds the general text of the measure in order and concurs that there is a need to study all the legal implications arising from the Supreme Court decision on the Province of Sulu and revisit the current legal infrastructure to ensure proportional and equitable representation within the BARMM and prevent the disenfranchisement of its voters," it added.

 

Peace and Development: The BARMM timeline

On July 27, 2018, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It was ratified on January 21, 2019.

“And with economic development came more peace in Mindanao, as clashes between the military and rebel or terror groups went down dramatically during the Duterte administration. The creation of BARMM also paved the way for real economic development of the region,” a ‘Duterte legacy,’ said PDP Laban, the political party of former President Duterte.

On October 28, 2021, the former Chief Executive signed a law extending the transition period from 2022 to 2025, thereby postponing the supposed first regional parliamentary elections in the region.

On August 12, 2022, the 17th Philippine President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. administered the oath to the eighty newly and re-appointed members of the BTA at Malacañang Palace. (ALP/PIAPS)