President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has urged Congress to expedite the passing of a bill postponing the elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BARMM), which will be held simultaneously with national midterm elections on May 12.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cesar Chavez confirmed to reporters on Wednesday, January 29, that Marcos certified the bill as urgent. Chavez explained that the postponement of the BARMM elections would “address the urgent need of the Bangsamoro transitional government to realign its governance structure” and “ensure that the region’s aspirations for unity, inclusivity, and genuine autonomy are achieved.”
Chavez also said that a copy of the urgent certification has been transmitted to the offices of Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs Secretary Mark Llandro.
On Tuesday, January 28, the Senate passed its version of the bill to fast-track its passage. The House of Representatives earlier passed its version of the bill in December 2024. The Senate version of the bill proposes to reset the first BARMM elections to October this year.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that Comelec has not yet printed the BARMM parliamentary ballots “because of recent developments.”
Not the First Postponement
If the bill is passed into law before Congress goes on break on February 8, it will mark the second postponement of BARMM’s first parliamentary elections. In 2021, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed a republic act postponing the autonomous region’s elections from 2022 to 2025.
In November 2024, the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed an earlier ruling excluding the Sulu province from the BARMM, prompting calls to postpone its first elections.
In explaining why Comelec hasn’t printed ballots for the BARMM elections, Garcia added that the commission “may end up opening the filing of candidacy anew for the region in the event of redistricting as a result of reapportionment of the slots originally assigned to Sulu.”
On Friday, January 31, Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Carlito Galvez Jr. welcomed Marcos’ call to postpone the region’s elections. “Based on studies and consultations with our peace partners, there is a groundswell of support for the resetting of the BARMM elections,” Galvez said.
He added that the Bangsamoro government needed time to amend its Electoral Code and Local Government Code to align them with the SC’s ruling to exclude Sulu from the region. “We have to ensure that all legal issues are addressed,” he said.
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