InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines -- Elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in 2013 may be affected if a final agreement is signed by the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front within the year.
Government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen said that since the future autonomous Bangsamoro political entity will eventually replace the ARMM, there are now discussions on possible options on the electoral process in the region.
Government panel member Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, however, said that even if a comprehensive peace accord is signed, it is not immediately implementable.
Ferrer said the a new law will be needed to implement the agreement.
"If there is no agreement in due time, the elections in ARMM will push through," Leonen said in a video conference from Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
"There are many options being studied, which can include also that the elections may continue in 2013. But we are still finalizing that," Leonen added.
He, however, admitted that the contour of the envisioned entity is still under discussion.
"Territorial scope is very difficult to negotiate...I can tell you that our positions are poles apart," Leonen said.
Leonen said the current panel is aware of the objections raised against the aborted Bangsamoro Juridical Entity which was crafted during the past administration.
The BJE, contained in the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain that was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, would have covered more than 700 barangays, including those in Palawan.
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