SC ruling upholding OICs for the ARMM opposed

The Supreme Court has been asked to reverse its decision on Oct. 18 which paved the way for the appointment by President Aquino of officers-in-charge in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao because the ruling may set “a very dangerous precedent” that can lead to the accumulation of more power by the Chief Executive.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, in filing a motion for reconsideration of the high court’s decision that legalized Congress’ postponement of the Aug. 8 ARMM elections, argued, “It will set a very dangerous precedent as it will give rise to a very powerful President who could appoint 672,416 OICs in the barangay (villages) in the event that scheduled elections in barangay are canceled.”

He added, “For sure, these 672,416 OICs who owe allegiance to the appointing power will be a very strong and solid force to reckon with in any national or local election since they could spell the big difference between winning and losing the polls.”

Macalintal, through his lawyer Edgardo Carlo Vistan II, elaborated: “With 42,026 barangays and a total of 16 elected officials per barangay, including eight Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, this will yield a total of 672,416 barangay OICs. And this is not farfetched considering the postponement of scheduled barangay elections in the past.”

Macalintal also took exception to the ruling of the majority that the appointment of the OICs was “a mere interim measure” not requiring referral to a plebiscite.

He said, “The appointment of these OICs has drastically changed the basic structure of the ARMM because the elective and representative character of ARMM officials as mandated by the Constitution will be replaced by OICs for almost two years.”

“Even the Court ruled that fundamental change in the basic structure of the ARMM constitutes an amendment of its Organic Act which has to be approved in a plebiscite before it could be implemented,” Macalintal argued.

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan, Almarim Centi Tillah and Datu Casan Conding, who also asked the tribunal to reconsider its decision, said the synchronization of the ARMM elections with the 2013 polls violated the ARMM’s autonomy that was guaranteed by the 1987 Constitution.

“The Court failed to appreciate that the law in question, Republic Act No. 10153, violated the Constitution; ignored the Local Government Code, and brushed off the Organic Act creating the ARMM in one fell swoop.