Bangsamoro CoC filing ‘peaceful’ — Comelec

The first day of the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (CoC) for the first-ever Bangsamoro elections slated next year has been peaceful, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“Peaceful naman po (It was peaceful),” Comelec Chairperson George Garcia told DAILY TRIBUNE in a Viber message.

Garcia added that no untoward incidents have been reported so far.

The week-long CoC filing started Monday, 4 November, and will be until 9 November.

It was originally scheduled from 1 to 8 October but was moved to a later date following the Supreme Court’s decision to exclude Sulu from the Bangsamoro region.

As of Monday, four aspirants — three from Basilan, two from Tawi-Tawi, two from Maguindanao del Sur, and one from Maguindanao del Norte — have formalized their intent to run for next year’s Bangsamoro elections.

Meanwhile, no aspirant has yet filed in the special geographic area identified by the poll body in Cotabato.

The Comelec pushed through with the CoC filing on Monday despite Senate President Francis Escudero’s announcement that he would seek the postponement of the parliamentary elections in the Muslim-dominated region.

Escudero said the Senate would discuss its rescheduling from 2025 to 2028, following the High Court’s decision to exclude the province of Sulu.

The senator filed Senate Bill 2862 on Monday to formalize his pronouncement to postpone the said elections.

However, Garcia said they will proceed as scheduled.

“A bill is not yet a law. So we will proceed with all the activities in relation to election preparation for the [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao],” Garcia told reporters in a separate interview.

“However, as in the past, we will defer to the wisdom of the legislature on this matter,” he added.

The first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections are set for 12 May next year, simultaneous with the national and local midterm elections.

A total of 80 seats will be contested in the 2025 Bangsamoro polls, 40 for regional political parties, 32 for parliamentary districts, and eight for sectoral organizations.

There are seven established parliamentary districts in the BARMM parliament, namely Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City, the Bangsamoro special geographic area in Cotabato province.

Around two million Bangsamoro voters are expected to cast their votes come election day.