Drilon calls ARMM polls 'desynchronized' but election lawyer differs

Senator Franklin Drilon has said that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) polls scheduled this August amount to “desynchronized elections" but an election lawyer points out that the regional polls are not covered by the Synchronized Elections Law. Drilon, principal author of Senate Bill 2756 which seeks to have the ARMM polls postponed, has stated that it would be unconstitutional to hold an election not synchronized with the national and local polls in May 2013. The senator said that Republic Act 9333 – which amended the ARMM Organic Act – is inconsistent with the Synchronized Elections Law (Republic Act 7166) since it provides for “desynchronized elections." Section 1 of RA 9333 states that “the regular election of the regional Governor and Regional Vice Governor and Members of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the ARMM shall be held on the second Monday of August 2005. Succeeding regular elections shall be held on the same date every three years, thereafter." But election lawyer Romulo Macalintal explained that RA 7166 or the Synchronized Elections Law covers local elections other than regional elections. “It does not include any of the ARMM elections," he said. Section 2 of RA 7166 states that “there shall be an election for President, Vice-President, twenty-four (24) Senators, all elective Members of the House of Representatives, and all elective provincial, city and municipal officials on the second Monday of May." Macalintal said the reason behind ARMM’s exclusion in the said law is that the autonomous region had yet to be officially created under the 1987 Constitution at the time the Synchronized Elections Law was passed. “Synchronized polls are covered by the transitory provisions of the 1987 Constitution, which, on its adoption, the ARMM was not yet created. Section 18, Article X of the 1987 Constitution mandates Congress to pass the Organic Law to create autonomous regions to be approved by ARMM voters in a plebiscite," he added. —MRT, GMA News