BARMM leaders ask SC to nullify Bangsamoro Electoral Code provisions

Fifteen public officials and representatives from political parties and organizations from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) asked the Supreme Court to nullify and void several Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC) provisions.

In their 64-page petition, the leaders argued that the BEC was issued by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) and was signed by BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod Balawag with “grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction” and for violation of the Constitution and existing rules.

“It violated the constitutional guarantee on equal protection of the laws and equal access to opportunities for public service. It even infringed upon the powers and jurisdiction exclusively vested by the Constitution upon the Commission on Elections (Comelec) over the administration of election laws,” the petition read.

“Moreover, it tampered with the sole authority of this Honorable Court to promulgate rules on pleading, practice, and procedure before regular trial courts in BARMM,” it added.

In March 2023, the Department of National Defense (DND) announced that the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament passed the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 35 or the Bangsamoro Electoral Code.

The Bangsamoro Electoral Code was crafted to allow democratic participation in the local and regional elections, and would also open the creation of political parties in the region with representations from women, youth, indigenous people, settler communities, traditional leaders, and the Ulama.

The first regular election for the Bangsamoro Government will be held and synchronized with the 2025 national elections as stipulated in the Bangsamoro Organic Law, according to the Bangsamoro Parliament.

Further, the petitioners challenged the BEC’s provision that facilitates the grant and use of public funds for election campaigns and partisan political activities in direct violation of Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code, which expressly prohibits the use of public funds for any election campaign or partisan political activity.

Also challenged were Sections 9 and 12 of Article IV of the BEC for being “inconsistent with the principles of republicanism enshrined in the Constitution and implemented in the [Bangsamoro Organic Law] insofar as said provisions impose a four percent (4%) threshold before a political party representative may qualify for a seat in Parliament.”

They alleged that such a provision “also creates a barrier that will not only limit the choice of the people but also hamper the development of a free and open party system.”

With these, the petitioners asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the BTA from implementing the BEC, pending its resolution of their petition. — DVM, GMA Integrated News