CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday, December 22, suspended the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the March 2026 parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) over the failure of the region’s interim legislature to pass a parliamentary districting law.

The filing period, which had been scheduled for January 5 to 9, 2026, will be deferred until the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) enacts the required districting measure, said Comelec Director for Education and Information Frances Carolyn Aguindadao-Arabe. 

The Supreme Court (SC) had earlier directed the BTA to finalize parliamentary districts by October 30, a deadline that was missed. A BTA spokesman earlier said the region’s parliament aimed to pass a districting law by year-end.

Based on Comelec en banc Resolution No. 11183, the new COC filing schedule will be announced once the BARMM districting law is in place. 

The filing period had been set in early January 2026 under a Comelec resolution issued on November 19, but the delay prompted the suspension to “ensure the election process aligns with the finalized districts,” Arabe said.

The six-year-old BARMM was supposed to hold its first regional elections last October, but the SC struck down two earlier districting laws as unconstitutional and instructed the BTA to draft a new measure.

BTA members have filed several versions of a proposed law to create single-member districts based on population and geography, intended to prevent gerrymandering and ensure fair representation in the region’s first parliamentary election.

The move followed a 2024 SC ruling that excluded Sulu province — and its seven parliamentary seats — from the BARMM. Sulu has since been placed under the administrative jurisdiction of the Zamboanga Peninsula.

A new districting law would add seven districts within the current Muslim-majority territory, restoring the total to 80 as provided under the Bangsamoro Organic Law. – Rappler.com