COTABATO CITY – It is now too late to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with only five session days left in Congress to amend the ARMM charter before the Aug. 11 polls, senior government officials said Monday.

This developed as the Malacañang Accreditation for Reporters Office (Maro) disclosed here Monday the travel itinerary of President Macapagal-Arroyo, which includes her ceremonial proclamation of the ARMM bets of the Lakas Christian-Muslim Democrats and of the Kabalikat ng Mamayang Pilipino (Kampi), led by reelectionists Gov. Zaldy Uy Ampatuan and Vice Gov. Ansaruddin Adiong.

Twenty-four other candidates for the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) would be proclaimed administration candidates by the President, which her official itinerary says would be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Army Officers’ Hall in Camp Siongco, Awang, Maguindanao.

Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong said the event would signal that the polls would push through as scheduled under Republic Act 9054, the Expanded Autonomy Act.

He said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should have made known its request to the government to reset the elections as early as last January or at the latest, in the last week of May.

“Now we have only five session days before Aug. 11, how can that be done in so short a time?” Datumanong said.

Congress sessions will resume on July 28.

Not enough time

In a separate phone interview, Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) said as much.

“There’s not enough time to do that, especially in a bicameral Congress,” Leyretana said, referring to the MILF’s belated request, through government chief negotiator, Rodolfo Garcia, to have the polls postponed by the government.

The MILF’s request was reported online by the luwaran.com, a website of the MILF Central Committee, in its June 23 edition.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said a transition to a shift to a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) would have to wait until the three-year term of office of elected ARMM officials shall have been finished in 2011.

Datumanong corroborated this, saying a BJE could only be put in place after the present ARMM charter was amended by Congress.

Another official who asked not to be identified said MILF assumption this time for a transitional leadership was tantamount to accepting ARMM, which it had repeatedly rejected as a peace solution in the past.

Datumanong said Iqbal, who has a direct communication line with him, could have at least called him up to relay the request.

He expressed optimism that the peace process would be upheld by anyone who may succeed the presidency after Ms Arroyo.