SC's TRO moots ARMM polls postponement

by CARMELA FONBUENA abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak There’s no more obstacle to the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) after the Supreme Court (SC) decided to stop Tuesday’s signing of the agreement on a new Moro homeland, an election official said. Elections commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the SC’s temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Memorandum on Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) helped firm up the stand not to postpone next week’s elections in the ARMM. "There's no more obstacle to the elections in the ARMM. The TRO is helping the elections," he said. Former Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said calls for postponement are now "moot and academic." The Supreme Court has set a hearing on the oral arguments on the MOA-AD on August 15. "We do not know how long the... [read full story]