Several groups from Mindanao, including civil society leaders from Lanao del Sur, filed a petition before the Supreme Court to question the constitutionality of a recently enacted law that redistricted districts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The petitioners sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the implementation of the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 77 (BAA No. 77), which they claimed was passed without proper consultation, violated existing laws and disrupted the electoral process for the October 13 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.
“Nandito po kami para mag-apela sa ating Supreme Court, kami po ay nananawagan sa ating President, sa lahat at tayo po ay mga Pilipino, isang bansa po tayo,” one of the petitioners enthused.
Last August 19, the Bangsamoro Parliament approved on third and final reading the Bangsamoro Redistricting Act that reconstitutes the 32 single-member parliamentary districts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
The Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament spelled out that this law distributes the seven vacant parliamentary seats originally apportioned to Sulu following the Supreme Court ruling excluding it from BARMM.
The reconfiguration of parliamentary districts is as follows: nine for Lanao del Sur, five for Maguindanao del Norte, five for Maguindanao del Sur, four for Basilan, four for Tawi-Tawi, three for Cotabato City, and two for the Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province.
“Kami po ay naniniwala na ito ay unconstitutional dahil hindi ito dumaan ng tamang proseso. Ito po ay labag sa konstitusyon ng Pilipinas at labag sa CAB, Comprehension Agreement on the Bangsamoro, at labag po ito sa Bangsamoro Organic Law,” the petitioners pointed out.
Sultan Saad Amadi, who was among those challenging the law, emphasized that the lack of local consultation, especially in affected areas such as Kapai in Lanao Del Sur.
“Alam namin na yun ay labag sa batas dahil wala silang ginawa na sapat na consultation doon sa mga affected area,” Amadi noted.
A representative from the Bangsamoro Development Agency, who also chairs the group, raised the same concern.
“Marami po iyong mga municipality na masyadong naapektuhan doon sa pagbuo nitong bagong bill sa BARMM government yung tinawag na Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No 77 tulad ng Municipality of Kapai, Municipality of Bayabao, Municipality of Pualas and Municipality of Tubaran. Lahat niyan ang mga town niyan ay nagkaproblema sila dahil doon sa ang narinig nila ay napirmahan na itong bill na hindi sila nakonsulta,” the representative asserted.
Abu Mujai Maulana, a civil society member from Marawi City, likewise highlighted the timing of the bill’s passage, just 44 days before the scheduled elections, as a serious concern.
“Dapat ang Comelec kung ano ang nasa calendar of activities nila yun ang ginagawa nila. Isipin mo urong-sulong sila, yung printing of ballots para sa October 13 parliamentary election ay pinostpone, ngayon na naman binalik na naman,” Maulana cited.
The filing comes amid a growing dispute between the BARMM government and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), wherein BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua insisted that Comelec should implement the new law, citing its legal validity and the need to reflect the current political structure.
However, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia had earlier maintained that the law came too late to be applied to the upcoming elections, citing logistical and legal constraints even as he insisted that the poll body will still proceed with 73 parliamentary seats instead of 80.
