Election lawyer: Postponing ARMM polls unconstitutional

MANILA, Philippines -  Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said yesterday that postponing the Aug. 8 regional elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is unconstitutional.

In a statement, Macalintal warned that re-scheduling the ARMM polls is tantamount to extending the terms of office of its elective officials “without the mandate of the electorate.”

“It is illegal and unconstitutional because it violates our democratic principle that elected leaders can only legally justify their governance if they obtained a mandate or the voluntary consent of the electorate,” he said.

Macalintal said the “contract” of elected officials with voters is only for three years “and there is nothing on the ballot which provides for any condition that their terms could be extended.”  

“Hence, any extension of their terms, under the guise of postponing the election, is also a violation of the constitutional provision that no law shall be passed impairing the obligations of contract,” he added.

Macalintal said such an extension could also cause “unauthorized transfer of appropriations since these officials will be paid from appropriations intended for those to be elected in August 2011 and not intended for any holdover officials.”

“Congress should now put an end to the vicious cycle of postponing an election, like the forthcoming August 2011 election of ARMM for governor, vice governor and regional assemblymen,” he said.