Palace thanks Enrile for supporting ARMM poll postponement

MANILA, Philippines—The Palace is elated that no less than Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is backing its bid to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) set for August.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda thanked Enrile, on Wednesday, for saying that he believed the bill’s chances of being approved in the Senate so that it could be synchronized with the mid-term polls in May 2013.

“We believe this is a reform measure. It’s not only a reform measure but we want also to save cost for the government when it comes to having synchronized elections,” Lacierda told reporters, in reference to the ARMM poll postponement bill.

“We would like to thank the Senate President for his support for the ARMM postponement,” he also said.

The fate of the ARMM postponement bill now lies with the Senate, with the House already approving its own version.

The Senate has until the first week of June to approve the measure as Congress will be adjourning its session at that time.

President Aquino already met with two groups of senators to seek their support for the ARMM poll postponement measure.