NAMFREL

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from NAMFREL Election Monitor Vol.2, No.11

With less than three months to go, the holding of the scheduled election in the ARMM on August 8 is still uncertain. The senate is still in the process of holding consultations on whether it should be postponed or not, before the matter is presented to the bi-cam for deliberation. The lower House has earlier approved the bill postponing the election, and to have it synchronized with the May 2013 national and local elections. Should the senate decide to postpone, both versions of the postponement bill would have to be reconciled at the congressional bicameral conference committee before being approved again by both houses. Theoretically, Congress has up to June 9 to make a final
decision, before they adjourn.

With the uncertainty of the holding of the election, the Comelec has said that it could not go full blast with the preparations. The Comelec has decided to automate the ARMM election using Smartmatic's PCOS machines. However, the Comelec said that with the holding of the election still unsure, it could not finalize its deal with Smartmatic. The Comelec is wary of having a repeat of what happened in the October 2010 barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections -- which lawmakers wanted to postpone but eventually pushed through -- resulting to hasty preparations of the Comelec, delay in the delivery of election paraphernalia, and postponement of the election in many areas.

However, it is not only the decision of Congress that the Comelec is focusing on. There are also pending cases before the Supreme Court seeking to both postpone and continue on with the ARMM election. The Comelec said that regardless of the decision of Congress, the justices could rule to postpone or not the polls.

The Comelec has already adjusted its Calendar of Activities regarding the ARMM election, "to afford more time to prepare and review the guidelines for the conduct of the elections.". The election period has been officially delayed by one month, now covering the period June 9, 2011 - September 7, 2011.

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Last Thursday, the Senate Committee on Local Government held a consultation hearing in Marawi City, attended by Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Miguel Zubiri, and Francis Escudero, who have all expressed before to the media their opinion that the election should push through. The hearing was criticized by civil society organizations in Mindanao who are in favor of postponement, saying that the hearing was "lutong makaw" (a done deal).

Despite the opposition to the postponement of aforementioned senators, including Vice President Jejomar Binay who said in an interview that synchronization of the elections is not a valid reason to postpone the scheduled ARMM polls, some senators are said to be in favor of postponement, including Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. Earlier last week, DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo joined in the call to postpone the ARMM election, repeating an earlier statement made by presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda that the ARMM was "a failed
experiement." Former senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., the author of the ARMM Organic Act, said in an interview also last week that postponement of the election is not the solution to the "failed experiment" and that any failure in the autonomy in ARMM resulted from a "half-hearted implementation of the law that created the autonomous region." Pimentel also said that if Congress decides to postpone the election, "the Act would very likely be challenged before the Supreme Court for being an unconstitutional and illegal act."

Meanwhile, several individuals have already filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for ARMM governor and vice governor. For governor, the following have reportedly filed their candidacies already: Ephrain Defino, Alvarez Isnaji, Elsie Orejudos, Pangalian Balindong, Kadra Masihul, Pax Mangudadatu, and Ansaruddin Adiong. For vice governor: Sharifa Bago, Bashier Manalao, Sahiron Salim, and President Aquino's aunt Margarita "Tingting" Cojuangco. The Comelec has set the deadline for filing of COCs on May 25. (Various news sources)

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