The Senate on Wednesday approved on second reading the bill postponing the first regular elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) from 2022 to 2025.
However, Senator Panfilo Lacson registered a “no” vote on its second reading approval while Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Senator Imee Marcos abstained from voting.
The second reading version of Senate Bill 2214 was simpler, according to Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, as it removed provisions that were unnecessary.
“As you can see, we simplified it as much as we can. We removed all other provisions that we deemed no longer necessary and just limited it to the number, the date of the extension and that’s all,” Zubiri said.
In the committee report sponsored by Senator Francis Tolentino, Section 2 of SB 2214 provides that the incumbent members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will be retained as the interim government in the BARMM.
However, the second reading version of the bill scrapped this provision and replaced it with a new section that states: “Upon the expiration of the terms of the incumbent members of the BTA, the President shall appoint 80 members of the said BTA who shall serve up to June 30, 2025 or until their successors shall have been elected.”
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the second reading version will let the Bangsamoro Organic Law or the BARMM’s constitution stand.
Zubiri affirmed Sotto’s statement, saying all sectors in the BARMM will be represented “no matter who the president will be” in the upcoming 2022 polls.
While President Rodrigo Duterte maintains a neutral stance on the passage of the bill, Zubiri said the defense cluster of the Cabinet supports the bill pushing for postponement of the 2022 BARMM polls.
Moreover, Zubiri said Malacañang is only waiting for the Senate to finalize its version of the bill for it to be certified as urgent.
“What I was told… Senator Bong Go told us, together with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea that the priority certification is forthcoming. So we can approve it on second reading and hold until we get the certification and we can discuss it for third reading once the certification is released,” Zubiri said.
According to Sotto, the House of Representatives is also waiting for the Senate’s version of the bill as the Lower House’s version contains more complex provisions. — BM, GMA News
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