Mindanao solons seek to reset BARMM polls to Sept. 2026
MANILA, Philippines — Two Mindanaoan lawmakers on Wednesday filed a bill seeking to reset the first regular parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to Sept. 28, 2026, in a bid to address legal gaps created by recent Supreme Court (SC) rulings.
If passed, House Bill No. 7238, filed by Lanao del Sur Reps. Zia Alonto Adiong and Yasser Balindong, would amend the Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act No. 11054) to reset the date of the first regular parliamentary elections and provide for the continued exercise of authority by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) until elected officials assume office.
Subsequent polls will then be synchronized with the 2028 national and local elections and held every three years thereafter.
A recent Supreme Court ruling originally set the target date for the first parliamentary elections on March 31, 2026, which could no longer be met after the BTA failed to pass a new redistricting law before Nov. 30.
In seeking the amendments, the lawmakers cited “legislative and political developments… that necessitated adjustments to the transition timeline.”
READ: Law on BARMM districts passed
Under Article XVI, Section 13 of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the first regular parliamentary elections were intended to mark the completion of the transition period and fully operationalize the Bangsamoro government established in 2019.
Recent Supreme Court rulings, however — including the decision excluding Sulu from the BARMM and a separate ruling striking down as unconstitutional the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act on parliamentary redistricting — nullified the earlier legal framework for holding those elections.
This, they said, “created a constitutional and statutory gap that must be addressed by Congress to ensure that the forthcoming Bangsamoro parliamentary elections are conducted on a sound legal footing, consistent with the Constitution, the Bangsamoro Organic Law, and prevailing jurisprudence.”
In a separate statement, Adiong — who also chairs the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms — said their bill would ensure that the inaugural BARMM parliamentary polls are conducted in a “peaceful, orderly, and fully lawful manner.”
It may be recalled that last year, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia told Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima that “until and unless” the BARMM government passed the measure, the commission could not proceed with the filing of candidacies and the printing of ballots in time for the March 31, 2026 deadline.
The BTA managed to pass Parliament Bill No. 415, which establishes 32 single-member parliamentary districts across the region, only last week.
Under the new districting scheme, nine seats are allocated to Lanao del Sur; five each to Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur; four each to Basilan and Tawi-Tawi; three to Cotabato City; and two to the Special Geographic Area.
Adiong said the reset would give election officials adequate time to prepare, including the redrawing of precincts based on the new parliamentary districts, and would help protect the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process.
“The timely enactment of the districting law provides the legal foundation for fair representation and for elections that comply with the Constitution, the Bangsamoro Organic Law, and prevailing jurisprudence,” Adiong said. /jpv
