Comelec postpones BARMM polls ballot printing

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Thursday the postponement of printing official ballots for the upcoming Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections to study a recently approved bill that reallocates parliamentary seats.

The Committees on Local Government and Codification of Laws approved the redistribution of 32 parliamentary district seats after the Supreme Court ruled last September to exclude Sulu province from the Bangsamoro region.

Seven elective posts originally intended for Sulu will be reallocated.

The bill, Parliament Bill No. 351, adds one seat each to the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, as well as Cotabato City and the Special Geographic Area.

The new allocation of the 32 parliamentary districts will be as follows: nine in Lanao del Sur; five each in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur; four each in Basilan and Tawi-Tawi; three in Cotabato City; and two in the Special Geographic Area.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia said in an interview that the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, scheduled for 13 October, will proceed as planned.