SC: Sulu exclusion from BARMM takes effect immediately

A ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but excluding Sulu from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is immediately executory, according to the Supreme Court.

-  DAPHNE GALVEZ

SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting yesterday said the ruling, promulgated on Sept. 9, "must take effect immediately."

"Immediately executory means the decision should be fully implemented despite a pending motion for reconsideration. There would be no reason for the court to say it was immediately executory if it intended otherwise," Ting said.

The Bangsamoro Attorney General's Office filed two motions in October, asking the high court to reconsider the matter.

The Senate and the House of Representatives have filed separate bills to defer the BARMM parliamentary elections from May 2025 to May 2026.

The Bangsamoro law, which was enacted in July 2018, provided for the establishment of the BARMM as a political entity and its corresponding basic governmental structure.

This was followed by a plebiscite on Jan. 21, 2019, covering areas comprising the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Isabela City in Basilan and Cotabato City.