COTABATO CITY — Mixed reactions greeted the poll body’s suspension of its preparations for the Oct. 13 first ever regional parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia was quoted in radio reports in Cotabato City on Thursday, as saying that they are uncertain if the Bangsamoro electoral exercise would push through as scheduled.
The suspension of preparations comes as the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of a law, reapportioning parliamentary districts in Sulu to BARMM.
“We just have to wait. That is something that legal luminaries have to resolve. Let’s avoid undue speculations. We just have to patiently wait,” a member of the Bangsamoro parliament, Mohammad Kelly U. Antao, said on Thursday.
Leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) had earlier told reporters in Central Mindanao and in Zamboanga City that they want Sulu, deemed the historical birthplace of the MNLF that fought for self-governance by the southern Moro communities for more than two decades, reintegrated into the Bangsamoro region.
“Sulu was the flashpoint for that uprising by the MNLF. It must stay as part of the Bangsamoro region, which was paid for with blood, sweat and tears of the guerillas and unarmed Moro villagers who fought for it,” MNLF Chairman Muslimin G. Sema, who is BARMM’s labor and employment minister, said.
Mr. Sema said they will wait for Comelec’s further action on the legal issues related to the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 77.
The Bangsamoro region covers the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato.
Cotabato City is the capital of BARMM, the seat of its regional government.
Members of the BARMM parliament who want the regional elections held as scheduled said the Supreme Court issued only a TRO on the implementation of the BAA 77 and has not ruled yet if it is unconstitutional and must be invalidated with finality.
Peace advocates demanding for more time for the transition, from the 27-year now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to BARMM, want the supposed Oct. 13 parliamentary elections deferred by two or three more years.
They told reporters separately that they are hoping for the rest of the October regional polls for the transition process, partly aiming to foster peace, sustainable development and political stability in the Bangsamoro provinces and cities, to proceed unhampered. — John Felix M. Unson
