Sen. Jinggoy Estrada rejects ARMM polls postponement

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada rejected the proposal to postpone the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and he vowed yesterday to oppose the bill seeking to stop the polls.

He said the Muslim residents of the ARMM have also opposed the postponement of the regional elections, which was sought by Malacañang and some congressmen and without proper consultations with the people.

"Only the politicians with selfish interest would benefit form the postponement of the ARMM elections," Estrada said.

He said the Commission on Elections is ready and all preparations have been made for the success of the elections, so there is no reason to postpone it.

The law is very clear on the schedule of the regional elections and the Comelec had already spent millions in the preparations, including the test of the machines for the computerized polls.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had certified as urgent the bill seeking for the postponement of the ARMM elections to accommodate the requests of local congressmen, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front.

"The majority of our Muslim brothers and sisters do not want to postpone the elections because they do not trust most of their politicians," Estrada said.

The House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reform will still deliberate on the bill and the plenary will vote on the proposed measure.

Estrada said that aside from the opposition of the ARMM voters, there is no more time to pass a bill seeking to postpone the regional elections in the House and especially in the Senate.