IT HAS BEEN eight years since the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was created by virtue of Republic Act 11054 otherwise referred to as the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
Signed on July 26, 2018, RA 11054 effectively abolished the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and created the BARMM to deliver self-governance and lasting peace following peace pacts with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The created an autonomous government structure embarking on government embarking on a parliamentary-democratic system led by an elected parliament and a Chief Minister.
But to date, the Bangsamoro people have yet to elect its parliament – just a bunch of prominent personalities whose appointments came from Manila.
According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), all is set for the first parliamentary election on September 14.
For some reasons, Comelec chairman George Garcia raised the possibility of postponing the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections anew if the voting centers in the region will remain under floodwater.
“There are certain areas, such as in Maguindanao and Cotabato, wherein severe flooding occurs. We are thinking of where people can go to vote, especially if flooding happens in their schools on election day,” Garcia told reporters during a press briefing.
Citing Section 6 of the Omnibus Election Code, Garcia hinted at postponing the election in areas affected by “force majeure.”
“If election paraphernalia is destroyed, there is nothing that we can use for the election. We have to postpone the election.”
But at this point, we are not seeing that kind of scenario,” Garcia clarified, even as he claimed that the Comelec has started deploying ballots and other election materials to Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.
“We’re set to deliver the materials to four other provinces next week.”
