Comelec braces for BARMM polls delay as bill nears Senate approval

Metro Manila, Philippines – The Commission on Elections has put on hold the printing of ballots for the first parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao following the Senate's second reading approval of a bill to postpone the polls and the Palace's certification of the measure as urgent.

“Because of these recent developments, we did not yet proceed with the printing of the BARMMM parliamentary ballots. Only the national and local elections ballots,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a text message on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved on second reading a bill resetting the BARMM’s parliamentary polls to October 13, instead of holding them simultaneously with the May 12 midterm elections.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has certified the measure as urgent.

“[T]he President believes that the move would address the urgent need of the Bangsamoro transitional government to realign its governance structure. It will also ensure that the region's aspirations for unity, inclusivity, and genuine autonomy are achieved,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.

Even without the certification, senators said the bill is already scheduled for third reading next week.

“The certification is not anymore needed but it’s a message from the Palace of how important the measure is,” Senator JV Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, said in a separate text message.

In December, the House of Representatives passed a counterpart measure postponing the BARMM elections to May 2026. Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero earlier said it was Malacañang that proposed a five-month postponement instead of a year.

“Hintayin lang po namin ang passage of law. Madami po gawing adjustments (We are just waiting for the passage of the law. There will be a lot of adjustments to be made),” Garcia said.

Another issue that needs to be resolved is the fate of Sulu's seven district seats following the Supreme Court’s ruling excluding the province from BARMM.

“We may end up opening the filing of candidacy anew for the region in the event of redistricting as a result of reapportionment of the slots originally assigned to Sulu,” Garcia said.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the first regular election for the new parliament was set to be held simultaneously with the 2022 elections, but it was postponed due to the pandemic and the lack of an electoral code.