Marcos confirms BARMM parliamentary polls reset to September 2026
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President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. confirmed Wednesday that the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have been rescheduled to 14 September 2026, the second Monday of September.
Marcos announced the new election date during the Bawat Bayan Makikinabang and Bangsamoro Government Convergence Program at the Philippine Army headquarters in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
"In this regard, we enacted the amendments to the Bangsamoro Organic Law following the Supreme Court's ruling on the territorial composition of BARMM. These provide the necessary legal and administrative adjustments to ensure an orderly, credible, and inclusive electoral process," the President said.
Marcos said the new schedule is intended to ensure the region will finally have its first duly elected parliament.
"It is our goal to be able to say that we have a duly elected parliament in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao," he said.
The President said the revised timetable gives the BARMM government sufficient time to implement the Supreme Court's ruling while upholding the autonomy and democratic aspirations of the Bangsamoro people.
The Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act No. 11054) was amended to reset the first regular parliamentary elections to 14 September 2026. Under the amendments, succeeding regular elections will be held on the second Monday of May 2031 and every three years thereafter to align with the national and local election cycle.
The rescheduling followed the Supreme Court's ruling declaring Sulu's inclusion in BARMM unconstitutional after the province rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law during the 2019 plebiscite.
The first BARMM parliamentary elections had previously been postponed under Republic Act No. 11593, which was signed by then-President Rodrigo Duterte on 28 October 2021. The law extended the Bangsamoro Transition Authority's term to allow it to complete the normalization process and other transition mandates before the region holds its first regular elections.
