Manila, Feb. 5 -- The Senate on Thursday began urgent deliberations on a measure seeking to reset the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), as Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri warned that repeated delays have trapped the region in a cycle of disenfranchisement.

Sponsoring Senate Bill No. 1587, Zubiri said the proposed reset is intended to make the next postponement the final one, stressing that the continued absence of elected leaders has weakened democratic participation in the region more than seven years after the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

"We have had three election postponements in the region thus far, and it is starting to feel like we have trapped ourse...