Comelec may remove bets’ pictures on BARMM polls’ ballots

Commission on Elections chair George Erwin Garcia — Photo by Noy Morcoso/ INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The pictures of candidates may be removed from the ballots of the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia on Wednesday.

Garcia said that among more than 100 candidates, only around 20 of them submitted their pictures to be used in the ballots.

“It cannot be that while other candidates have pictures, others don’t, so the project management office may decide that if the pictures of the candidates for members for parliament in the parliamentary district will not be submitted, they will be removed from the ballots,” Garcia told reporters in Filipino during an interview.

READ: Comelec: Ballots for BARMM polls have photos of candidates

Garcia cited the Bangsamoro election code, wherein the inclusion of the candidates’ faces in the ballots may be done “as far as practicable.”

Its Article VII, Section 14 (c) of Chapter 1 states “[a]s far as practicable, the official ballots for the BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] Elections shall include, aside from the name of all candidates, each candidate’s photo/logo and a “None of the Above” option.”

It added that the “COMELEC, through the BEO [Bangsamoro Electoral Office], shall take efforts to ensure that the Bangsamoro people are aware of all candidates running for elections in BARMM.”

Meanwhile, Garcia said that the logos of the political parties and the “None of the Above” option will be found in the ballots.

Preparations for BARMM polls

Garcia shared that the poll body wrote to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Senate President Francis Escudero, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and to the Senate and House of Representatives’ panels on electoral reforms informing them of the poll body’s preparations for the BARMM elections.

“We said our predicament that the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections will no doubt push through,” Garcia said.

Meanwhile, Garcia maintained that the Comelec is preparing for the elections despite the pending decision of the parliament on the Sulu issue. He explained that the poll body may fall short on preparations if it waits on the decision.

READ: Comelec gearing up for BARMM polls in October

“We are preparing for the 73 parliamentary seats because we don’t know what the final parliament’s decision will be on the seven [seats],” Garcia noted.

The elections were set to fill 80 seats in the parliament. Only 73 seats are currently at stake since Sulu province, which had seven seats, was excluded from the region.

The Supreme Court previously granted Sulu’s petition to be excluded from the region after the province rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law in a plebiscite.

The first parliamentary elections will be held on October 13, 2025 after it was rescheduled from May 12, 2025. /das