Palace: Holdover officials in ARMM

Incumbent officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will stay in their posts even as their terms end today, according to Malacañang.

No elections were held in August following the passage of a law synchronizing the ARMM elections with the national elections in 2013.

However, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on the appointment of officers-in-charge in the region, one of the provisions of the law that the Aquino administration intended to use supposedly to initiate reforms in the region.

“Since we cannot appoint new OICs, we are bound to respect the holdovers in the meantime. There will be holdovers in the meantime until the Supreme Court decides on the constitutionality of the ARMM postponement law,” Lacierda said in an afternoon briefing in Malacañang.

Lacierda, in an earlier news briefing, said having holdover elected officials had been found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. He, however, said there should be no vacuum in governance in the region.

“The most logical thing, is for the incumbent officials to stay put,” he said.

While having holdover officials is unconstitutional, “we do not want … a vacuum.”

“It’s something that is important for governance to continue. There should be somebody on hand to continue public service,” Lacierda said.

He said the next move on the government’s reform agenda in the ARMM would hinge on the Supreme Court’s decision on whether the synchronization of elections law is constitutional.

“They may uphold the process (of appointing the OICs) … or they will say it us unconstitutional, in which case, either two options may be decided by the Supreme Court, either by (having) holdover (officials) or have elections,” Lacierda said.