MANILA - There may not be enough time to pass the bill seeking to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Senate local government committee admitted.

The committee's chairman, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said the bill has to be passed before the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy on May 2 or less than a month from now.
 
However, the Senate will only resume session on May 9, which is also the day it will convene as an impeachment court for the trial of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. The committee also has yet to conduct more public hearings, including those to be held in the ARMM.
 
"The time constraint is quite severe," Marcos told reporters after the committee hearing on the bill seeking the postponement. "But we will do what we can in the time that is available."
 
During the hearing, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Law Department chief Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan said the agency is ready to hold the elections on August 8 as scheduled despite ongoing debates on whether it should push through or not.

After the filing of candidacies on May 2, the printing of ballots will start on May 23, Rafanan said.
 
Postponement unconstitutional?

Former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who authored the Local Government Code and the law governing the ARMM, argued during the hearing the postponing the elections is unconstitutional.
 
He said the law provides only for a three-year term for officials.
 
"Any act that would try to change the term of office of the elected officials would, in my mind, be in violation of the character of the Charter," Pimentel said.
 
Pimental added that there's not enough time to postpone the elections because it requires not just the approval of both houses of Congress but also a plebiscite.
 
No to ARMM OICs

Meanwhile, the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) is against the President appointing ARMM officers-in-charge before the proposed synchronization of its polls with the 2013 mid-term elections.
 
Philconsa President Manuel Lazaro said it is against the "concept of autonomy" behind the creation of the ARMM.
 
"Let them do it themselves," Justice Lazaro said, referring to ARMM residents holding their own elections as mandated by law.
 
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who hails from Mindanao, believes resetting the polls is a "recipe for disaster," saying it will cause factionalism since appointed leaders do not have the mandate of the people.
 
"We just want democracy to prevail," he said in the hearing. "We want the people to make a decision."
 
Time needed for reforms

Officials of the Aquino administration, however, stressed the need to reset the polls.
 
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo pointed out that postponing the elections would give the administration enough time and opportunity to institute reforms in the ARMM, which he called "a failed experiment."
 
Robredo cited the result of a recent audit in the ARMM, where it was found that almost P1 billion in public funds was lost from 2009 to 2010.
 
"The unfortunate part is that some of the people who perpetuated the malversation of funds, illegal disbursement of funds are still working in the ARMM up to this very day," he said. "We would like to run after people who have abused their authority."
 
The secretary explained that appointing non-politicians to manage the ARMM before 2013 would help level the playing field in the region. He said among the appointed officials' task will be to cleanse the voters' list, dismantle private armies, and other needed efforts.
 
"Continuing with the status quo, I believe, will not really achieve the purpose of the ARMM," Robredo said.
 
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles also pointed out that postponing the elections would help peace talks with Muslim separatist groups prosper this year, as it would remove partisanship from the picture.