House leaders have filed a counterpart bill seeking to move to May 2026 the first parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), a proposal that undermines public trust in a democratic process, according to a minority leader. 

House Bill 11034 filed on Monday mimics Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s proposal under Senate Bill 2862—filed a day earlier—to postpone by another year the scheduled 2025 elections in BARMM.

The proponents of the measure include House Speaker Martin Romauldez and Muslim lawmakers—Deputy Speaker Yasser Balindong and Reps. Zia Alonto Adiong, Bai Dimple Mastura and Munir Arbison Jr.

The Muslim solons are all from Lanao del Sur, which is part of the BARMM, except for Arbison who is from Sulu, formerly a BARMM member before it was excluded by a Supreme Court (SC) ruling in September. 

Both measures cited the potential implications of the SC’s decision on the composition of the BARMM Parliament and in the preparations for the upcoming 2025 elections considering the pending petitions to reinclude Sulu again in the Bangsamoro Region.

HB 11034 also took into consideration a resolution from the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), appealing to Congress to move BARMM polls to 2028—coinciding with the national elections—citing legal and administrative challenges presently confronting the region, including the SC’s verdict.

Romualdez said the postponement is not a delay in progress but a “necessary step” to ensure that the foundations of the BARMM are solid and capable of supporting a sustainable autonomous government.

“With Sulu removed from BARMM jurisdiction, the parliamentary seat allocations require recalibration, a process demanding time and extensive legislative adjustments to reflect the region’s new structure accurately,” Romualdez said. 

However, House Deputy Minority Leader and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, former governor of the ARMM, thumbed down the proposals, arguing that it may compromise people’s right to suffrage unless broad and extensive public consultations are undertaken.

“The right of the Bangsamoro people to choose their own leaders who will be ultimately accountable to them is one of the highest expressions of our democracy as enshrined in both the Constitution and the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL),” Hataman stressed. 

“We need broad public consultations to postpone the 2025 election in BARMM, and not just the opinion of a few resource persons who can be invited inside the halls of the Senate and House,” he added.

Hataman, who will vie for Basilan governor, pointed out that the government should uphold the essence of the Constitution and the BOL by carrying on the initial plan to hold the first-ever general polls in BARMM by May 2025.

Similar to Hataman, Senators Imee Marcos and Koko Pimentel also opposed deferring the scheduled BARMM polls, citing democratic principles.

Earlier this year, the BARMM parliament had established 32 parliamentary districts in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City, the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province, and Sulu.

However, with the exclusion of Sulu, which initially reserved seven seats, Adiong said there have to be “readjustments to allotments of the seats.”

Under the House’s proposal, the President shall appoint 80 new interim members of BTA, who shall serve until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.

The term of office of the present BTA members shall be deemed expired.