The Philippine Online Chronicles

The Aquino administration is currently pondering whether or not to postpone the elections for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which is currently slated for August 8, 2011.

President Noynoy Aquino is reportedly in favor of holding the elections on time. According to the Manila Bulletin, Aquino wants to push forward with the elections to give justice to those slain in the November 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, whose relatives are afraid that postponing the polls may give the Ampatuan clan time to retain power. Several members of the clan are currently being held for allegedly masterminding the elections-related killing of 57 people.

Despite this, several Mindanao-based lawmakers led by Lanao del Sur Representative Pangalian Balindong recently filed a bill to postpone the elections to 2013 to synchronize it with that year’s regular elections. The bill was discussed by the Congressional Committees on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms and on Muslim Affairs on Tuesday.

The day before, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID), supported by the Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc. (MKFI) and The Asia Foundation (TAF), held a roundtable discussion on the proposed postponement.

Among those in attendance were former Senator Santanina Rasul, former ARMM Governor Parouk Hussin, former Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Muhammad Benjamin Dorlorfino, and former party-list Representative Mujiv Hataman, as well as Atty. Paisalin Tago and Ismael Abubakar, who both served as speaker of the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) of ARMM.

According to Hussin, the issue "requires time and serious efforts to really delve deeper into the issue."

Fr. Eliseo Mercado, Jr, OMI, former chair of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) however, said that postponing the elections might hurt the already fragile state of democracy in the ARMM.

It was also pointed out that the ARMM cannot afford the vacuum of legitimate leadership that may result if elections are not held.

Others pointed out, however, that postponement may be more preferable due to the region’s volatile peace and order situation, and so as to ensure that the current attempts at peace talks with ARMM-based rebel groups do not get derailed by partisan politics.

The forum is set to meet again next week to discuss whether the postponement of elections is needed to secure the peace and support reforms.

The Philippine Information Agency has reported that certain Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and donor agencies belonging to the United Nations (UN) prefer the deferment of this year’s ARMM elections due to the need for the continuity of projects and programs under the current regional leadership.

“In fact, they (foreign donor agencies’ officials) even asked for an assurance that we will be staying for the rest of these years, but I told them that we in the regional government are not in the position to dictate what we should do with the forthcoming ARMM election,” said  ARMM Executive Secretary Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo.

There have been eight instances of poll postponements in the ARMM’s 21-year history. Only the 2008 ARMM elections were held on the prescribed date.

Preparations underway

Without a definite announcement of postponement, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Maguindanao has started preparing for the August polls.

“For now, the August 8, 2011 polls are still pushing through, so we are preparing the inventory of machines, like computers, fax machines, Xerox machines and checking if they’re all still functioning,” said Maguindanao Provincial Election Supervisor Estelita Orbase.

The use of the automated counting machines used during the last presidential elections have also been approved for use in the ARMM polls.