COTABATO CITY (BusinessWorld, Nov. 14, 2024) — More local executives in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have joined groups seeking the deferment of next year’s first regional parliamentary elections to 2026.
Radio reports in Central Mindanao cities on Thursday stated that 10 of the 12 mayors in Basilan signed on Tuesday a manifesto favoring the move, just a day after their governor, Hadjiman S. Salliman, released his separate written petition for it.
Among the ten mayors in Basilan who signed the manifesto is Roderick H. Furigay, the mayor of the vote-rich Lamitan City covering 45 barangays with mixed Muslim and Christian residents.
In their separate statements, the Basilan mayors and Mr. Salliman pointed out that they support the Senate Bill No. 2864 and House Bill No. 11034, introduced by Senate President Francis G. Escudero and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, respectively, to reset the 2025 BARMM elections to 2026.
This comes after the release of a similar appeal made by 11 of 12 mayors in Maguindanao del Norte on Sunday, citing that the postponement of the elections will give the BARMM government enough time to prepare for such an exercise.
The sectors pushing for the delay of the BARMM elections had also asserted that the 80-seat regional parliament need time to reconfigure the parliamentary districts in the autonomous region after the Supreme Court removed Sulu province from its core territory as petitioned by provincial officials, among them Gov. Hadji Abdusakur M. Tan. — JFMU, BusinessWorld, Nov. 15, 2024
