SC urged to decide BARMM petition after BTA’s ‘non-compliance’

MANILA, Philippines — A group has urged the Supreme Court (SC) to already decide on its pending petition on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) after the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) allegedly failed to comply anew with the court-ordered submissions.

On Tuesday, the AMANA-BARMM held a rally at the SC headquarters in the City of Manila to push the high court to act on its petition seeking to set aside two laws necessary for holding parliamentary elections in the BARMM.

READ: Petition filed against poll-related BARMM laws

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In a statement following the rally, AMANA-BARMM members and petitioners Sultan Alim Saad Amate and Maulana Mamutuk said the pending petition is about “respect for the Court, the rule of law, and the credibility of the September 2026 BARMM parliamentary election.”

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Amate pointed out that if a respondent of a petition in any court refuses or fails to answer, “there must be a consequence.”

“We respectfully plead with the Supreme Court: treat the BTA as in default, resolve the petition, and protect the Bangsamoro vote,” Amate said.

READ: SC TRO sought vs some BARMM rules ahead of parliament polls

Meanwhile, Mamutuk emphasized that the BARMM election will not be pushed through if the basic districting, maps, population records, and representation are “still unclear.”

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“If the district is wrong, the vote is wrong. If the vote is wrong, the Parliament is wrong,” said Mamutak, speaking Filipino.

On May 22, Amate and Mamutuk filed the petition before the SC seeking a temporary restraining order against certain provisions of the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA).

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Among the provisions questioned was Section 4 of BAA 86, which the petitioners said apportioned districts inequitably, as it granted two parliamentary districts to the Special Geographical Areas with a population of 214,703, while allotting only one district to Marawi City despite its larger population of 259,993. /jpv

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