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The group blamed the 2022 law for current proposals in Congress to delay the Bangsamoro elections again, from May 2025 to May 2026
COTABATO, Philippines – A citizens’ group in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) went to the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday, November 18, to challenge a 2022 law that postponed the region’s first elections and extended the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s (BTA) term, which they see as a fundamental violation of constitutional principles.
The group submitted their petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus, questioning Republic Act No. 11593, the law that postponed the regional elections and extended the BTA’s term to 2025.
The group blamed the 2022 law for current proposals in Congress – Senate Bill 2862 and House Bill 11034 – to delay the Bangsamoro elections again, from May 2025 to May 2026.
“By questioning the previous extension law, we aim to correct any deviations from our Constitution,” said Hannief Ampatuan, the group’s legal counsel.
The petitioners said they knew their timing would draw scrutiny. The BTA’s term is nearing its end, and critics have questioned why the legal challenge comes now. But for the group, the stakes transcend the calendar.
The move isn’t just about timelines, but about ensuring that no law, no matter how well-meaning it seems, tramples on the rights of citizens, Ampatuan explained.
The group asserted that the BTA extension law infringed on the rights of citizens, particularly those in the Bangsamoro region.
“We want to rectify this, and if it is corrected, it will provide a basis for Congress to pass a new law, “ Ampatuan said.
He said the voices of all Bangsamoro people must be heard through the elections.
“We have been repeatedly denied elections. Instead of having elective officials in the Bangsamoro parliament, we have had appointed officials in the BTA for five years,” said Ampatuan.
The group also argued that a plebiscite should have been done to allow people in the Bangsamoro to decide whether or not the postponement of the elections and the extension of the BTA’s term were acceptable to them.
“We want to hear the voice of every Bangsamoro, including our bapa and babo (uncles and aunts), whether they support or oppose the extension,” said Badrodin Mangindra, another legal representative of the group.
Emphasizing that the foundation of peace is built on elections, Mangindra said, “We want a plebiscite to be held so that we can hear from our fellow Bangsamoro. Their rights were violated in 2022 when the BTA was extended. Now, their voices are again being ignored. We aim to rectify that law and provide Congress with a basis for action, guided by the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Abulkhair Alibasa, one of the petitioners, said they took the initiative because they want the BARMM elections to push through in 2025. – Rappler.com
