New parties emerge for historic BARMM elections

COTABATO CITY, BARMM, Philippines — New regional political parties are emerging in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as it prepares for the highly anticipated first parliamentary elections on Sept. 14 this year.

Among the most prominent is the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), which filed on Tuesday a “Petition for Registration with Manifestation to Participate in the 2026 BARMM Elections” before the Bangsamoro Electoral Office, the regional arm of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Member of Parliament Naguib Sinarimbo, BFP spokesperson, said the party is positioning itself as a unifying force representing a broad coalition of stakeholders.

READ: Marcos green-lights first BARMM polls in September

Also meeting Comelec’s Tuesday deadline for petition submissions was the Mahardika Party of Moro National Liberation Front founding chair Nur Misuari.

As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, 13 regional parties had filed petitions, including the UBJP, Bangsamoro Party, Alliance of Bangsamoro Tri-People’s Party, Bangsamoro Peoples Democratic Party, Bangsamoro Peoples Party, and BARMM Grand Coalition. —EDWIN O. FERNANDEZ