Sulu people oppose proposed postponement of BARMM polls —Gov. Tan

The people of Sulu are against the proposed postponement of the first elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan said.

Tan sent a memorandum to President Rodrigo Duterte expressing his opposition to the postponement of the BARMM elections from 2022 to 2025.

Proposals to postpone the BARMM elections are currently being deliberated jointly by three committees at the House of Representatives, supposedly to extend the term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority for three years to allow more time for the full transition to BARMM.

The BTA is serving as the interim government in the BARMM.

But Tan said the postponement of the BARMM elections and the extension of the BTA's term will only delay the free exercise of the region's constituents towards self-governance.

He added that depriving the BARMM people of the "opportunity to prove, once and for all, that they can sufficiently and responsibly govern themselves" defeats the purpose of enacting the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

Moreover, Tan claimed that the BTA is only using the postponement of the BARMM elections as an excuse for its failure to set up the political and legislative infrastructure to effectively transition into the new autonomous region.

He said that out of the six priority legislative measures mandated by the BOL, the BTA was only able to enact the Bangsamoro Administrative Code.

Tan also said the BTA's supposed negligence in reorganizing the bureaucracy resulted in confusion and the slow or non-delivery of basic services to the people in the region.

Citing the experience in Sulu itself, he said that only 64 of the almost 600 personnel of various national agencies whose items are devolved to the BARMM have been appointed.

The rest, on the other hand, were terminated without replacements or reappointments, which resulted in non-payment of salaries and anxiety among the affected personnel, he added.

Tan urged Congress and the BTA to consult the people and the local government officials first before deciding on the measures to postpone the BARMM elections.

If intensive consultations are not possible due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he suggested that lawmakers concerned should be consulted. — Erwin Colcol/BM, GMA News