PCO confirms Marcos is seeking BARMM poll postponement to Oct
COC FILING. Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia (extreme left, standing) supervises the first day of the filing of Certificates of Candidacy on Nov. 4, 2024 for the May 12, 2025 BARMM Parliamentary Elections (BPE). The activity was done at the Bangsamoro Electoral Office, Cotabato City and Camp Siongco, Maguindanao del Norte. (Comelec photo)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has certified as urgent the bill seeking the postponement of the first-ever election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to October 2025.
In a statement from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Wednesday, it said that it was the upper house’s version of the measure that was certified as urgent by Marcos.
“The President has written to Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero certifying as urgent Senate Bill No. 2942 entitled ‘An Act Resetting the First Regular Elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Amending for the Purpose Article XVI, Section 13 of Republic Act No. 11054, Otherwise known as the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as amended,” the statement read.
The development was made to address the Bangsamoro transitional government’s urgent need to realign its governance structure.
“Given recent legal developments surrounding the issue, the President said the move would address the urgent need of the Bangsamoro transitional government to realign its governance structure,” the PCO said.
“It will also ensure that the region’s aspirations for unity, inclusivity, and genuine autonomy are achieved,” it added.
The PCO further said that a copy of the letter was transmitted to House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Secretary Mark Leandro Mendoza, President and adviser on legislative affairs and head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.
The BARMM election was initially proposed to be moved from May 12, 2025 to August 11, 2025.
But now, Sen. JV Ejercito, sponsor of the bill, said it will be moved to October 13 of this year.
“The next election shall be held and synchronized with the 2028 national elections, and every 3 years thereafter,” Ejercito’s office told reporters in a text message.
The Senate version was approved on second reading on Tuesday, while the lower house’s version, or House Bill (HB) No. 11144, was approved on third and final reading in December last year.
The HB No. 11144, on the other hand, seeks to reset the BARMM elections to May 2026.
