Political bloc hails SC’s ruling vs creation of 3 new Bangsamoro towns

COTABATO CITY — A large bloc of political leaders in the Bangsamoro Region on Thursday lauded the Supreme Court for preventing the plebiscites for the creation of three new towns in Maguindanao del Norte for being unconstitutional.

In a statement released Thursday, officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Grand Coalition, most known by its acronym BGC, lauded the Supreme Court for ordering the Commission on Elections to forego with its supposed conduct of plebiscites next month as part of the process for creating the Datu Sinsuat Balabaran, Sheik Abas Hamza and Nuling municipalities based on three separate measures passed by the 80-member BARMM parliament

Two of the three Bangsamoro parliament bills aims to establish the Datu Sinsuat Balabaran and Sheik Abas Hamza towns that shall cover areas inside Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. The third bill is for the setting up of Nuling town out of several barangays in Sultan Kudarat in the same province.

Local officials had contested before the High Tribunal what is for them the peculiar concept of the poll body’s supposed plebiscites involving only voters in barangays to be covered by the three proposed municipalities.

“The court ruled that qualified voters from both the new and mother municipalities should be included in the plebiscites,” the Supreme Court’s Public Information Office announced on Tuesday, referring to the issue.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Grand Coalition said its officials and followers across BARMM's six provinces and cities were elated with the Supreme Court's decision on the protest filed by local executives against the split of Datu Odin Sinsuat into three towns via separate enabling measures drafted by the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament.

“This decision is seen as a victory for justice and the supremacy of the rule of law in reconfiguring the political boundaries of local government units in BARMM,” the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Grand Coalition, often mentioned in radio reports as having more than 800,000 documented members and followers in the autonomous region, said.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Grand Coalition is led by Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr., Sulu Gov. Hadji Abdusakur Tan Sr., Maguindanao del Sur Gov. Mariam Mangudadatu and her spouse, Suharto Mangudadatu, who was a former governor of Sultan Kudarat, and the incumbent Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman.

BARMM’s spokesperson, Mohd Asnin Pendatun, pointed out, in a written statement released to media outfits in Cotabato City on Tuesday, that the Bangsamoro regional government upholds democracy and rule of law and respects the decision of the Supreme Court on the supposed setting up of three new municipalities in Maguindanao del Norte.

“While the intent and purpose of the (regional) laws were to provide more effective and efficient services to our constituents, we fully understand the important reasons behind the ruling and will abide by it in its entirety,” said Pendatun, referring to the Supreme Court decision.