Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 18) — Fifteen leaders from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have asked the Supreme Court to nullify some provisions of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC).
In a statement on Sunday, the newly formed BARMM Governors’ Caucus said the leaders accused the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and the region’s interim chief minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim of grave abuse of discretion in enacting the BEC.
They said the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 35, or the BEC, was “contrary to the Constitution, Bangsamoro Organic Law, Omnibus Election Code, and other national election laws.”
The petitioners alleged the regional law encroached upon the power and prerogative of the Supreme Court as well as the constitutional duties and jurisdiction of the Commission on Elections.
“Worse, by providing restrictive qualification for political parties, the Bangsamoro Electoral Code curtailed what should be free and equal opportunity for political parties to seek and obtain parliamentary seats, thereby contradicting the mandate of the Constitution and the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” they said.
“It would also facilitate the use of public funds for political campaign or partisan political activities, in violation of the Omnibus Election Code…It further intruded into the power of Congress to define and penalize election offenses and prescribe procedures for their prosecution,” it added.
The high court received the 64-page petition on June 14. Lawyers Romulo Macalintal, Ace Bautista, and Christopher Rodriguez represented the petitioners consisting of government officials, political leaders, and civil society groups.
They prayed for an immediate issuance of a status quo ante order or temporary restraining order against the implementation of the new law pending the decision on their petition.
The BEC was signed into law on March 8 and shall take effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general and regional circulation. The petitioners said it was published on May 2 in a regional paper.
