Comelec ordered to suspend Maguindanao del Norte plebiscites
THE Supreme Court (SC) yesterday stopped the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from holding the scheduled plebiscites next month in Maguindanao del Norte.
“Respondent Commission on Elections is enjoined to desist from holding plebiscites on September 7 and 21, 2024, and from performing any and all acts related to the ratification of Bangsamoro Autonomy Act Nos. 53, 54, and 55,” an SC briefer said.
SC spokesperson Camille Sue Ting said the unanimous decision was reached by the magistrates during their regular en banc session on Tuesday.
The scheduled plebiscite is for the creation of the new municipalities of Datu Sinsuat Balabaran and Sheik Abas Hamza from the municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat, and the municipality of Nuling from the municipality of Sultan Kudarat, both in Maguindanao del Norte.
The SC en banc partially granted the petition filed by the group of Datu Sajid Sinsuat against Ahod Balawag Ebrahim questioning the latter’s capacity as interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro government and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.
The petitioners have also asked the High Court to rule on the legality of Bangsamoro Autonomy Act Nos. 53, 54 and 55 which created the said municipalities out of existing municipalities.
The poll body had already issued a resolution setting the plebiscite to ratify the creation of the three new municipalities on September 7 and 21, 2024.
The High Court, in its decision, declared as unconstitutional Section 5 in Bangsamoro Autonomy Act Nos. 53, 54 and 55, which states that only the qualified voters of the barangays comprising the new municipalities to be created are allowed to participate in the plebiscite.
The SC held that “qualified voters from both the new and mother municipalities should be included in the plebiscite.”
“The prayer for injunctive relief is also granted. Accordingly, a final prohibitory injunction is issued, effective immediately,” the court said.
The SC has yet to release the full copy of its ruling.
