Solon says bill postponing BARMM elections now on final stage

Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri (File photo)

COTABATO CITY – Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri announced during the Bangsamoro Governance Summit on Friday, July 23, that the passage of the bill postponing the elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is now on its final stage.

  The postponement, according to him, will allow the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to fulfill its mandated duties in achieving elusive peace and prosperity in the Bangsamoro region. 

“In shaa Allah, within a month, we will get it done,” Zubiri said.

 Senate Bill No. 2214, a bill that would move the BARMM’s first regular elections from 2022 to 2025, was discussed on the second reading in June.

This August, Congress will resume deliberations on the proposed bill.

Once passed into law, the transition period will be extended for another three years. The bill aims to provide enough time for the interim government to accomplish the transition requirements cited in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), including the passage of the six priority legislations.

Currently, three of the six codes – administrative, civil service, and education code – were already approved in the Parliament.

Other key measures such as the local government, electoral, and revenue code, are currently in the appropriate committees and are ready to be presented in the plenary.

“We still need to do a lot more and we need more time. It is along these lines in which strong partnership between the Bangsamoro Government and local government units is of high importance,” BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim said.

Ebrahim and Speaker Atty. Ali Pangalian Balindong believed that the promotion of moral governance and priority projects to be implemented within the region can be accomplished in good time.

During this year’s governance summit, Zubiri assured the Bangsamoro people that he would provide all the help he can give to the region.

“I am always here as your ally, a fellow Mindanaoan who believes in just and lasting peace that you are all striving for,” he said. (PUBLICATION AND MEDIA RELATIONS DIVISION, MINDANAO EXPOSE’)