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First BARMM elections set for Sept. 14 after four postponements

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Kurt Dela Peña

First BARMM elections set for Sept. 14 after four postponements — INQUIRER GRAPHICS

MANILA, Philippines — After four postponements, the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will be held on Sept. 14.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said last month that the elections are crucial to the development of the region, which he described as a product of a decades-long peace process that began in 1968.

For Marcos, the participation of former secessionists in the elections, including through campaigning, shows they have chosen the political process over armed struggle to pursue peace and progress in the region.

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Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, or Republic Act (RA) No. 11054, which established the BARMM in 2019, the first parliamentary elections were initially scheduled for May 2022, when the mandate of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) was expected to end.

New districting law

In January, the BTA passed Parliament Bill No. 415, a measure providing for the apportionment of parliamentary district representative seats in the BARMM, clearing the final legal requirement for the region to proceed with its first parliamentary elections.

Last year, the BTA failed to pass the redistricting bill despite an earlier commitment to do so by Dec. 31. The measure was needed to comply with a Supreme Court decision that, without an approved districting framework, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) could not proceed with election preparations.

READ: Bangsamoro parliament fails to enact new redistricting law

The measure established the 32 parliamentary districts of the BARMM. It was approved on third and final reading before dawn on Jan. 13, following a special session that began on Jan. 12. The measure received 48 votes in favor, 19 against and four abstentions.

Two weeks later, Comelec postponed the March 30, 2026, Bangsamoro Parliamentary Election.

“Legally and operationally, we can no longer hold the BPE on March 30,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said. “Operationally, we can no longer afford the one month and two weeks to hold the BPE.”

Marcos eventually signed into law the bill resetting the first regular elections in the BARMM to the second Monday of September, which falls on Sept. 14 this year.

READ: Marcos signs law resetting BARMM elections

RA No. 12317 states that “to synchronize the BARMM parliamentary elections with the national and local polls, the regular elections for the Bangsamoro Government shall be held on the second Monday of May 2031 and every three years thereafter.”

Significant step

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity commended the BTA for passing the new districting law, congratulating its members for heeding the call of the Bangsamoro people to hold the region’s first regular parliamentary elections.

“The passage of Parliament Bill No. 415 in a special session on January 12 is seen as a major step by the BTA towards establishing a fully functioning, representative, and democratic government in the Bangsamoro, anchored on the provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB),” it said.

Then-Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said the approval of a legally compliant redistricting law reflected the BTA’s resolve to uphold democratic principles, ensure inclusive representation and realize the aspirations of Bangsamoro communities for self-governance.

“The law’s passage aligns with the peace, reconciliation and unity agenda of the Marcos administration, and its commitment to uphold its deliverables under all signed Bangsamoro peace agreements,” he said.

Government never lost hope

Despite the postponements, Marcos said that “the government never lost hope and remains fully committed to supporting this democratic exercise,” adding that “we are prepared for the first parliamentary elections in the BARMM.”

He made the statement during the opening ceremony of the 2026 National Peace Consciousness Month at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace.

The monthlong observance commemorates the 30th anniversary of the signing of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Mount Data Peace Accord and the signing of the Agreement on the Fulfillment of the Mount Data Peace Accord with the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army.

READ: Marcos vows safe, peaceful, credible BARMM polls on Sept. 14

“Be assured that this Administration will do everything within our mandate to ensure that the elections are safe, peaceful, and credible. We will protect the right of every Bangsamoro voter to cast a ballot freely and without fear,” Marcos said.

He urged BARMM voters to show that the region’s future is shaped by their voices, choices and hopes for their communities.

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Officials elected in the BARMM parliamentary elections will serve from noon on Oct. 30, 2026, to June 30, 2031. Beginning in 2031, elected officials will assume office at noon on June 30 following their election. /dm — with reports from Luisa Cabato

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