BARMM poll set for Sept. 14

THE Commission on Elections on Thursday said the first regular parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have been officially rescheduled to Sept. 14, 2026.

This follows the signing of Republic Act No. 12317 by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday, which resets the date from its original schedule.

Under the newly enacted law, the BARMM parliamentary polls will eventually be synchronized with the national and local elections beginning on the second Monday of May 2031, occurring every three years thereafter.

The commission said that the automated election system, including the same automated counting machines and equipment used in last year’s national and local elections, will be utilized for the BARMM polls.

It will also issue a revised calendar of activities, detailing the filing of certificates of candidacy, the campaign period, and the implementation of the gun ban, in the coming days. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking