Senate prods BTA extn proponents to lobby also in House

At its plenary session Tuesday night, June 1, the Senate suspended consideration of its version of the bill postponing the 2022 first election of parliament members in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, even as Senate President Tito Sotto urged BARMM officials and supporters to “lobby” also in the House of Representatives.

The Senate session was as usual streamed live via the chamber’s Facebook official page, with Bill author Francis Tolentino taking the center stage in answering questions from colleagues at the continued period of interpellation.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, taking the role as last member to ask questions, capped his inquiries with an observation that the Senate appeared more aggressive in rushing up the passage of the bill than the lower chamber (House).

His conveyed observation prompted a brief suspension session for about 15 minutes.

When the session resumed, Majority Floor Leader Miguel Zubiri moved to suspend consideration of the bill until their next session today (Wednesday), Thursday and Friday, June 4. Friday would be the last regular session day of the 18th Congress for a sine die adjournment.

But before acting on Zubiri’s motion for suspension on the BARMM election-postponing bill, presiding Senator Sotto made a remark in corroboration of Lacson’s observation.

Sotto told the session, attended by some BARMM officials including Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, he had learned from House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco that their deliberation of the counterpart bill was “stalled.”

He said BARMM officials and other supporters of the proposed poll postponement and extension in the lifespan of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) from 2022 to 2025 “should make lobby also in the House” to persuade members of the lower chamber into acting on their version at pace with the Senate.

Sotto assured that the Senate can pass the bill simultaneously with or even before the House passed its version.

In his interpellation time, Senator Lacson also wondered why President Duterte has not certified the bill as urgent for the two chambers of Congress to act on it with dispatch as they did in other certified measures.

Earlier, Senator President Sotto and Speaker Velasco had reportedly assured President Duterte in the presence of BARMM officials that both legislative bodies would pass the bill swiftly event if it would entail them holding special sessions after the June 4 adjournment sine die.

Published reports said the Senate has earlier expressed intention to pass the poll-postponing bill for second reading last week.

Supporters of the bill were hopeful that the Senate will make the second reading passage between Tuesday and Friday.

 

Lack of BARMM electoral code

Meanwhile, in Monday’s session (May 31), Senator Tolentino said it would be impossible for the BARMM to hold its first regular elections in May 2022 regardless of the fate of Senate Bill No. 2214

Tolentino cited at least three reasons elections would be impossible next year. One, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) or the regional parliament has yet to enact an electoral code. Two, the BARMM’s parliamentary districts have yet to be apportioned. And three, the region has yet to create a registry of voters

“It would appear that we have reached a stage where it is really impossible for us right now, as we speak, to arrive at a conclusion wherein legislation would result in an election (sic),” said Tolentino, the bill sponsor

Tolentino said the COVID-19 pandemic hampered work on these requirements, and funds from the national government initially meant for the BARMM were diverted to the pandemic response.

Electing the 80 members of the regional parliament will be different from electing district representatives. A new electoral code will be needed to define the conduct of elections in the autonomous region.

The members of the parliament would also be elected based on parliamentary districts, which had yet to be apportioned. And until the districts are defined, they could not begin work on the registry of voters.

Tolentino said the BTA was also waiting for the release of 2020 census, which would determine the parliamentary districts. The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the measure that created BARMM, required each district to have a population of at least 100,000.

‘Pass a simple bill’

The senators reiterated discussions on simplifying the bill to amend only the provision in the BOL that scheduled the first regular elections in May 2022

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said a “simple bill” would suffice to resolve senators’ confusion over the proposal, particularly on proposed revisions on the allotment of parliament seats.

Last week, hundreds of supporters of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) gathered in a protest rally in Basilan province over complaints that they would be sidelined if the bill passed Congress. The group cited the Senate bill’s supposed provision increasing the parliament seats allotted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) from 41 to 47.

Tolentino clarified that the proposal retained MILF’s 41 seats. The other six seats would be allotted to the MNLF, which currently holds nine seats. He said this is reflected in a “cleansed version” of the bill.

Drilon reiterated a proposal by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri last week to scrap a section in SB 2214 that amends the allocation of parliament seats in the BTA and and stick to the existing allocation as stated in the BOL

“Do we need to amend? The answer is ‘no.’ This makes our task simpler because the proposed section is totally unnecessary,” said Drilon.

“There is a need to expedite this bill to provide stability to the region… (The bill should be) a simple postponement of the election,” he said.

The veteran lawmaker said Congress has clear authority to legislate the postponement of the autonomous region’s elections. He cited a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the constitutionality of a law that postponed elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the BARMM’s predecessor.

Congress passed at least seven laws that postponed ARMM's elections, he said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson earlier argued that postponing elections in the BARMM would require a plebiscite approval because it would affect the people’s suffrage rights.

A plebiscite won’t be necessary, Drilon responded. He said the constitution only requires plebiscites on amendments to provisions that are “constitutionally essential” to the creation of an autonomous region. The date of its first regular elections isn’t, he said.

Holdover provision, accountability

Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel Jr. also reiterated his call to clarify when the terms would end for the current BTA members.

Tolentino said a clear provision on holdover capacities would be inserted into the final bill.

He also said the current BTA members would be eligible for reappointment as long as the president would issue new appointment papers.

Sen. Imee Marcos, meanwhile, was concerned about the funds downloaded to the BARMM. She said an accounting and liquidation of appropriations and block grants to the BARMM – amounting to P160.8 billion – were needed “so that we can get a full output report.”

Tolentino said the BTA did not handle the funds disbursed to the region. Most of the money went to the line agencies that implemented the projects for which the funds were allotted, he said.

Marcos disagreed. She said the bulk of the amount went to the transitional authority.

Tolentino said the matter could be tackled in the next budget season, and that he would support Marcos’ proposed inquiry to ensure “accountability.” (ALI G. MACABALANG / MINDANAO EXPOSE’)