Comelec: No stopping BARMM polls unless postponed by Congress

ALWAYS READY The Philippine Marines contingent, backed by an armored personnel carrier, forms part of the security personnel deployed to secure the 1,600-square-meter compound of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao government center on Monday, where the filing of certificates of candidacy for next year’s first Bangsamoro parliament elections is being held from Nov. 4 to Nov. 9. —Photo courtesy of DXMS Radio

COTABATO CITY, BARMM, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday began accepting certificates of candidacy (COC) for next year’s first-ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) amid the filing of a Senate bill seeking to postpone the regional polls.

Comelec Chair George Garcia said here on Monday that the poll body would continue its preparation for the historic balloting in the Bangsamoro as COC filing for the BARMM parliament elections (BPE) began on Monday and would end on Saturday, Nov. 9.

READ: Bill seeking to postpone BARMM parliamentary polls filed at Senate

“Our preparations will continue and only congressional action can stop us from preparing for the regional polls,” Garcia said when asked about Senate Bill No. 2862 filed on Monday by Senate President Francis Escudero to postpone the elections to address first issues related to the separation of Sulu province from the region.

Garcia was in this city to oversee the first day of the filing of the COCs for BPE.

READ: SC: Sulu not part of BARMM

Escudero’s announcement and the reported meeting between President Marcos and governors of the provinces that belong to BARMM on Sunday in Manila have sparked a “No-el” (no elections) scenario in the Bangsamoro.

But Garcia assured them there would be no stopping them from proceeding with the COC filing until a law tells them to do otherwise.

Garcia said that while Comelec would be ready in the event the BPE would be reset, the postponement could cost at least P1 billion.

“We are always ready. We always have a Plan B. But, I’ll be very honest and direct. Postponing the [BPE] will be costly. If we’re going with manual elections, it will be around P1 billion. It will be more expensive if it is an automated election, which can reach P3 billion,” Garcia told reporters in Cotabato City on Monday.

He added: “We are going to spend less in conducting the BPE on May 12, 2025, along with the national and local elections, because we will be using the same paraphernalia and machines to count votes and give honoraria to the same teachers.”

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, the principal author of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, also warned of a possible “backlash” should the BPE be postponed, as resetting the elections was “not popular” with local officials in the region who are ready to hold the polls.

Reduced seats

A total of 73 BARMM parliamentary seats will be at stake during the first parliamentary polls on May 12 next year, which will run alongside the country’s midterm elections.

Under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, the Bangsamoro Parliament will have 80 seats. But following the Supreme Court ruling that severed Sulu from the regional government, the number of parliament members had been reduced to 73, excluding the seven parliament seats allocated for Sulu.

With the exclusion of Sulu, the BARMM is now composed of the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Basilan (except Isabela City) and Tawi-Tawi; and and the eight new towns in Cotabato province collectively identifies as the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area, composed of 63 barangays in the province that voted to be included in BARMM during the plebiscite in 2019.

Early filers

Security was tight around the Bangsamoro Government Center here that hosted Comelec’s regional and the Maguindanao del Norte provincial offices as the first candidates arrived to file their COCs.

As of Monday noon, 12 aspirants have already filed their COCs in their respective provincial election offices, Comelec said.

Out of the 16 regional political parties that applied for accreditation, the Comelec en banc has so far approved 10.

“The fact that there are individuals going to Comelec offices to file their COCs means that they are also believing that the BPE will push through on May 12, 2025,” Garcia noted.

Among the early birds, Sheikh Abdulhadie Butuan Gumander, a Muslim religious leader, filed his COC at 9:30 a.m. seeking a seat in the parliament representing the second district of Maguindanao del Norte.

Gumander, who chaired the Ulama Association of the Philippines, is running under the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party.

Another early bird, Moro Ako Partylist filed its manifestation of intent to participate in the first BARMM parliament next year with lawyer Najeeb Lucman Taib, its president, as its nominee based in Lanao del Sur.

Incumbent Vice Mayor Marop Ampatuan of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Norte, filed his COC as second district representative of Maguindanao del Sur to the Bangsamoro parliament.

Ampatuan, who previously served as mayor of Shariff Aguak for two terms, is running under the BARMM Grand Coalition party.

Garcia called on all Bangsamoro registered voters to come out and vote to become part of the first-ever parliamentary elections in BARMM.

On guard

The Bangsamoro regional police said they saw no threat that would possibly disrupt the weeklong filing of COC but vowed not lower their heightened alert status.

Police Brig. Gen. Romeo Macapaz, regional police director, said they would instead intensify security operations to maintain peace and order in the area.

Macapaz also assured the public that the Bangsamoro police would remain impartial and nonpartisan and would uphold the rule of law at all times. —WITH A REPORT FROM TINA G. SANTOS INQ