Ballots for BARMM parliamentary elections will not carry 7 reapportioned districts
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 2 September) — The Commission on Elections has stood firm that it is already too late to include the seven reapportioned districts from Sulu province for the upcoming first parliamentary elections.
Lawyer Nabil Mutia, officer-in-charge of Comelec Cotabato City, said this means only 73 slots, instead of 80, will be included in the ballot.
“The printing of the ballots continue. And it’s based on the original, without the new redistricting. So, as is, Cotabato City still has two districts,” he said during the peace covenant signing for district representatives of Cotabato City with their partners in the Philippine Marines and the police on Monday.
“The Comelec did not consider the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act, which is the new law that distributed the seven seats from Sulu to the other provinces and cities of BARMM,” he added.
The ballots now being printed by the Comelec, Mutia said, are for the original district assignments without the seven seats from Sulu.
While the Organic Law for the BARMM provides for an 80-seat Parliament—40 of them party representatives, 32 single districts and eight sectoral—the single district representatives will now be only 25.
But lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s Committee on Local Government and the key sponsor of the redistricting bill, said they expect the Comelec to be studying the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act 77, which solidified the law on Sulu’s redistricting.
“That redistricting, Parliament Act 77, is already approved and has been signed by the chief minister and published. It has also been transmitted to the [Comelec]. So, I would expect that when it formally reaches the [Comelec], they will study it, and look at the provisions because there are specific provisions there, especially in the transitory provision that will apply to the October 13, 2025 election,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Mutia said the None of the Above (NOTA) option will remain as a choice on the ballots for the upcoming elections despite protest from some sectors, raising concerns about what would happen if NOTA receives more votes than the political parties.
He said that while the Comelec en banc still has to issue a resolution addressing the NOTA issue, Mutia stressed that it will only be relevant if NOTA wins in the 40 district representative positions. “The [NOTA] option is also only relevant for the regional parliamentary political parties if it gets 4%” of the votes, Mutia added.
During the peace covenant signing, Mutia highlighted the poll body’s new “Calibrated Kontra-Bigay” policy in a move to strengthen the fight against vote-buying and selling.
This policy, he said, allows for filing of electioneering cases based on “presumed acts,” a significant change from the previous requirement of being caught in the act.
An example of this policy, Mutia said, is the distribution of groceries, health cards, or other forms of aid, especially if a candidate’s presence or campaign materials are visible at the distribution site.
“Even if the candidate isn’t speaking, his presence or a tarpaulin in a market where goods are being distributed can be considered a presumed act of vote-buying,” Mutia said.
He also mentioned other suspicious activities that could now be grounds for a case, such as using many small-denomination bills, getting an excessive number of watchers, or providing financial support to watchers beyond the regulated number.
“If you see a candidate giving money to more watchers than allowed, it is an implied act of vote-buying,” Mutia said, adding that a disqualification case can now be filed. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
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