Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 25) — Senators on Wednesday approved on second reading the bill which seeks to delay by three years the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Senate Bill No. 2214 proposes that the polls in the region be held in 2025 instead of the supposed 2022 schedule, thus amending the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Senator Ping Lacson said he rejected the measure, while Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Senator Imee Marcos abstained from voting.
In pushing for the bill, Senator Francis Tolentino earlier said the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly contributed to the delays in the programs of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority. The BTA is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-led interim government leading the transition period in the BARMM.
According to Tolentino, there are still talks that have to be completed, such as enacting priority bills including the Bangsamoro Electoral Code and the Revenue Code.
However, Lacson said proponents of the measure should refrain from citing the pandemic as a reason in order to avoid the same logic from being used to push for a “no-election” scenario in the entire country in 2022.
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Meanwhile, members of the BTA have also appealed for more time to fulfill their mandate, saying the three-year transition period under the law was not enough to put in place the normalization and peace-keeping process.
