00:00Following the certification of President Bongbong Marcos as an urgent,
00:04the Comine reminded of the possible additional expenses
00:08if the parliamentary elections in BARM will not be held at the same time in May.
00:14The explanation of this is in the statement of Sandra Aguinaldo.
00:20The national and local elections in May 12 should be held at the same time,
00:24the parliamentary elections in the Bansamoro Autonomous Region in Maslim, Mindanao or BARM.
00:30But now, President Bongbong Marcos has certified as an urgent
00:33the bill that will be passed in the parliamentary elections in BARM.
00:38The Comilec also moved for the possibility of a bill by the Congress to be passed.
00:43But the Comilec reminded that the government will spend an additional 2.5 billion pesos
00:48if it will not be held at the same time in the elections in May.
00:52Practically, as if you will conduct a special election in the whole region,
00:56the Comilec will need 2.5 billion pesos.
01:00And that sentiment should be properly conveyed to the Congress.
01:05Garcia explained that in the separate parliamentary elections,
01:08there will be separate envelopes,
01:11deployment that will be used in the elections,
01:13people and other things.
01:14It should be noted that from November 4 to 9,
01:17the candidates who were elected to the parliamentary elections in BARM
01:20have already filed the Certificate of Candidacy or COC.
01:23This would have been the first parliamentary elections there
01:26after the 5 years of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.
01:30If ever, this will be the second postponement of BARM elections.
01:34The President certified as an urgent
01:36the bill to give BARM a chance to properly structure it.
01:42It should be noted that the Supreme Court decided that the next election in BARM is not included.
01:48So there was a question of what will happen to the 7 seats in the Parliament
01:52that were allocated for this.
01:54If ever it will be reset,
01:56it seems that our Parliament will need to be clear
02:01if the 7 seats allocated for Sulu will be distributed.
02:05So, the election code of Bangsamoro should be amended,
02:11the administrative code, the local government code.
02:14At present, the third and final reading of the Camera has passed
02:18the bill for the postponement of parliamentary elections in May 11, 2026.
02:23In the Senate, the second reading has been approved
02:26to postpone it until October of this year.
02:29According to Senate President Jesus Codero,
02:31he hopes that the Senate version will be adopted by the Camera
02:35because it is in line with the will of Malacanang,
02:38which is the product of many debates and discussions
02:41of security and election officials.
02:43For GMA Integrated News,
02:45Sandra Aguinaldo, for 24 Hours.
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