Senate OKs BARMM polls in Sept.

A MEASURE resetting the first parliamentary election for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in early September hurdled the Senate on Monday.

Through a unanimous vote, 21 senators approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 1823, which sets the first BARMM elections to Sept. 2026 from March 2026.

“Hopefully, this measure is passed on third reading in the House, so that the people of BARMM can also be confident that elections will be held and that there would no longer be postponements,” Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, who sponsored the measure, told senators.

The BARMM polls were initially set for Oct. 2025 but were deferred to March 2026 after the Supreme Court declared two Bangsamoro parliamentary redistricting laws unconstitutional.

In January, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) deferred the elections anew due to operational hurdles and the belated approval of Parliament Bill No. 415 on Jan. 13, which establishes parliamentary districts in BARMM.

Under the Senate bill, the term of office for elected BARMM officials will start on Oct. 30, 2026, at noon and will end on June 11, 2031.

Subsequent elections will be held on the second Monday of May every three years starting in 2031, simultaneous with national and local elections. Elected officials will assume office on the 30^th day following their elections.

The Comelec is ordered to draft implementing rules and regulations for the conduct of the polls, as well as enforce and administer national and local laws.

Republic Act No. 11054, the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which was signed in 2019, mandates parliamentary elections every three years. Since then, elections have faced multiple delays due to legal, operational, and political hurdles.

The September poll is seen as a critical step in consolidating the region’s autonomy, enabling residents to elect representatives to a fully functioning regional Parliament for the first time. — Adrian H. Halili