President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. confirmed Wednesday that the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections have been rescheduled to 14 September 2026, aiming to ensure an orderly and inclusive electoral process following legal adjustments in the autonomous region.

Marcos confirmed the new election date during the “Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” and Bangsamoro Government Convergence Program held 22 July 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,” Marcos said. “These provide the necessary legal and administrative adjustments to ensure an orderly, credible, and inclusive electoral process.”

The President cited that his administration is pushing for the vote on the second Monday of September to achieve its goal of establishing a duly elected parliament in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Officials said the new schedule allows the BARMM government sufficient time to implement the Supreme Court decision while upholding regional autonomy.

The legal adjustments stem from a Supreme Court ruling that declared the inclusion of Sulu in BARMM unconstitutional, as Sulu voters rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act 11054) during the 2019 plebiscite.

The amended Bangsamoro Organic Law resets the first regular election to 14 September 2026. Future regular parliamentary elections will be synchronized with national and local polls starting on the second Monday of May 2031, continuing every three years thereafter.

The first regular elections were previously postponed under Republic Act 11593, signed in October 2021 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, to allow the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority to carry out normalization and transition mandates.

During Wednesday’s event, Marcos also led the turnover of financial assistance from the Socio-Civic Projects Fund to the Cotabato City government and BARMM provincial governments, as well as assistance packages to Bangsamoro ministries, offices and agencies.

According to Malacañang, the event highlights the administration’s effort to strengthen collaboration with the regional leadership.