MANILA, Philippines — A group from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has once again urged the Supreme Court to resolve petitions in relation to the first parliamentary elections in the region.
Alliance for Moral Advancement and New BARMM for All (Amana) staged a rally in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, emphasizing that only the high court can fix the districting dispute in the region.
“We traveled thousands of kilometers from Mindanao to be here because only the Supreme Court can cure what’s broken—a districting too flawed to begin an election,” Amana said in a statement.
READ: SC TRO sought vs some BARMM rules ahead of parliament polls
Last May 22, Amana-BARMM members Alim Saad Amate and Maulana Mamutuk filed a petition before the SC seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) Nos. 86 and 88, arguing that their constitutionality.
Among the provisions questioned by the petitioners was Section 4 of BAA 86, which they said apportioned districts inequitably as it granted two parliamentary districts to the Special Geographic Areas (SGA) with a population of 214,703, while only allotting one district to Marawi City despite its larger population of 259,993.
READ: Comelec sees 100% turnout in voting simulation exercises for BARMM polls
“We can only rely on you (Supreme Court). You are the cure. Review our petitions. Act on the TRO. Resolve this while we still have time,” Amana added.
Meanwhile, Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia on Saturday said that the parliamentary elections scheduled on September 14, 2026 will push through as the poll body has not received any TRO to stop the elections from happening.
Comelec’s preparations for the elections are underway as it completed its voting simulation exercises last Saturday. These exercises included mock voting, counting of votes, and transmission of election results where 50 registered voters participated in 10 clustered precincts. /cb
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