Comelec to finalize date for postponed BARMM polls
George Erwin Garcia. Inquirer file photo / Niño Jesus Orbeta
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is yet to finalize the date for the conduct of the first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections after the Supreme Court (SC) postponed the October 13. 2025 elections.
Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia made this remark a day after the SC announced the postponement of the elections and the ruling that the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 77, the redistricting law, and its predecessor, BAA No. 58 are unconstitutional.
Prior to this statement, Garcia said that the elections will be reset to March 31, 2026. He also said that the Comelec will not appeal the decision of the SC as it will comply with the high court’s directive.
“As far as the Comelec is concerned, it’s final. As far as the Comelec is concerned, there shall be a Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, the first in our history, sa (on) March 31,” Garcia said in a press conference when asked if the March 31 resetting date is final.
READ: Supreme Court pushes back BARMM parliamentary polls
The SC directed the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to determine the distribution of district parliamentary seats by October 30 while the Comelec should conduct the elections no later than March 31, 2026.
However, Garcia later clarified that the resetting date is subject to modification and the poll body will finalize the date for the conduct of elections. Garcia also noted that March 31, 2026 will fall within the Holy Week.
“Yes. We want the law to be enacted first,” Garcia told the Inquirer in Filipino in a Viber message when asked if the March 31 date is subject to change.
The SC, through its Spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting, said that “[t]here can be no BARMM elections on October 13, 2025 because of the lack of a valid district law.”
Ting added that “a new and valid districting law must be passed consistent with the Bangsamoro Organic Law, national laws, and the Constitution.
BAA No. 77, signed into law last August 28, is the law that redistributed seven seats originally allocated to Sulu. The Supreme Court earlier ruled to exclude Sulu from the region after the province rejected the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in a plebiscite.
Meanwhile, BAA No. 58 created the parliamentary districts in the region.
READ: Comelec eyes postponement of Bangsamoro polls after SC issues TRO
The BARMM Parliamentary has 80 seats, of which 40 seats are allocated for party representatives, 32 for single-member parliamentary districts, and eight for sectoral representatives.
Further, Garcia said that the passage of the law will trigger the Comelec’s preparations for the elections which include the refiling of certificates of candidacy, printing of ballots, among others.
“There should be a filing of certificate of candidacy in the first week of January but it will depend on the passage of the law, if it will be questioned again, if it is legal or the districting is appropriate. That is where we will determine the filing,” Garcia said in Filipino during the same press conference.
Garcia also said that the Comelec will issue a resolution to set aside all calendar of activities in relation to the October 13 elections. The poll body earlier set the election period from August 14. 2025 to October 28, 2025. /jpv
