MANILA, Philippines – Four political parties in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have taken a firm stance against the continued tenure of Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) members and ministers, submitting a position paper that challenged their hold on office.
The parties argued that based on laws, the appointed BARMM officials should be considered resigned and ineligible for reappointment if they are running for office.
At least 35 members of the interim BTA and regional ministers filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for parliamentary district seats or as nominees in the regional party list system early this month.
The nominees include BARMM interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Ebrahim, a presidential appointee, has been leading the BARMM since the region’s creation in 2019.
The two-page position paper, addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives, was submitted by the BARMM Grand Coalition (BGC), Serbisyong Inklusibo-Alyansang Progresibo (SIAP), Bangsamoro People’s Party (BPP), and Al Ittihad-Ungaya sa Kwagib Nu Bangsamoro (AL ITTIHAD).
They asked lawmakers to clarify that BTA members and ministers who filed COCs for the regional elections must automatically be resigned and disqualified from reappointment prior to any possible election delay in the Muslim-majority region.
Bills have been filed in the Senate and House of Representatives to postpone the BARMM’s first parliamentary elections scheduled on May 2025 to allow the region to make adjustments given the Supreme Court’s decision in September to exclude Sulu province from the region. The SC denied motions for partial reconsideration on Tuesday, November 26, upholding its ruling on Sulu’s exclusion.
The parties also said there should be no new schedule for the filing of COCs if Congress passes such a law.
They said they share the position that a provision in the Bangsamoro Election Code, which allows incumbent BTA members and ministers who filed their COCs and nominees in the regional party list elections to continue in office, is unconstitutional.
The political parties argued that the 1987 Constitution is clear that “no officer of the civil service shall engage in partisan political campaign,” and the act of filing a COC constitutes partisan political activity.
They also cited election laws which state that “any person holding a public appointive office or position… shall be considered ipso facto resigned from his/her office and must vacate the same at the start of the day of the filing of his/her certificate of candidacy.”
“Since BTA members, including the Interim Chief Minister of BARMM, are appointed by the President, and ministers and other executive officials in the BTA are appointed by the Interim Chief Minister, they must be deemed resigned upon filing their certificates of candidacy,” read part of their joint statement. – Rappler.com