The Supreme Court has received a petition accusing the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of “weaponizing” a temporary restraining order (TRO) to derail the upcoming Bangsamoro elections, warning that the move poses a grave threat to the country’s democratic processes.

Maulana L. Mamutuk, chairman of the Ranao Charitable Initiatives and petitioner against the recently enacted Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) 77, claimed Monday that Comelec’s 17 September suspension of election preparations was a manufactured excuse to delay the 13 October polls.

“By suspending preparations for the Bangsamoro elections on 17 September and only later manufacturing a legal alibi, Comelec has weaponized a Supreme Court TRO into an excuse to derail democracy,” Mamutuk said.

To recall, the Comelec has maintained that holding the elections has become “legally and factually impossible.”

However, Mamutuk countered that under election law, postponement requires the existence of force majeure, violence, terrorism or the destruction of election materials — conditions he said were absent.

The petitioner argued that what exists is a scenario of impossibility engineered by Comelec itself, which he called an “administrative failure disguised as an act of God.”

Mamutuk also alleged that the suspension of preparations was part of a broader pattern of irregularities, including the “rushed” passage of BAA 77, a subsequent internal memo invoking Section 5, and the “cynical invocation of impossibility.” He argued that such actions undermine the constitutional guarantee of free and fair elections.

Mamutuk warned that the practice could set a dangerous precedent for future national elections.

“The danger is not only for BARMM. If Comelec can create impossibility after halting preparations, it sets a precedent where any election in the Philippines can be postponed at will,” he said, adding that the practice shatters public trust and contradicts the commission’s mandate.

Further, the petitioner claimed that Comelec’s actions constituted a “culpable violation of the Constitution” and provided grounds for impeachment.

“The Bangsamoro people, and the nation as a whole, deserve elections — not engineered excuses,” Mamutuk said.

The poll body has yet to issue a statement in response to the accusations.