President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has certified as urgent a measure deferring the first-ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cesar Chavez confirmed this development to reporters on Wednesday, 29 January.
It was Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero who earlier disclosed that Marcos sought the postponement of the BARMM elections.
“May sinertify si Pangulong Marcos na BARMM election postponement (President Marcos has certified the postponement of the BARMM elections as urgent),” Escudero said. However, he did not specify whether the bill certified as urgent was the version from the Senate or the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives approved, on the third and final reading, the measure postponing the BARMM elections to 2026.
The Senate version of the bill seeking to move the BARMM polls was already approved on the second reading.
The upper chamber originally proposed the deferment from May 12, 2025, to 11 August 2025. However, Sen. JV Ejercito, who sponsored the bill, said it will now be moved to 13 October 2025.
Ejercito’s office said, “the next election shall be held and synchronized with the 2028 national elections, and every three years thereafter.”
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel was the only one to vote against the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 2942, arguing that the BARMM elections had already been postponed several times.
Pimentel said postponing it again to October 2025 would permanently “desynchronize” the BARMM polls from national and local elections.
Meanwhile, Escudero said he has already discussed Marcos’ certification of the bill as urgent with Pimentel.
“Kinikilala naman talaga niya na urgent talaga ito dahil kailangang pagpasyahan, one way or the other, kung ipo-postpone nga ba 'yung BARMM elections o hindi bago kami mag-adjourn (He acknowledges that this is urgent and needs to be decided immediately, one way or the other, whether the BARMM elections will be postponed or not before we adjourn),” he pointed out.
Escudero lamented that if the Senate adjourns, there will not be enough time to reset the elections.
“Kung mag-adjourn kami, wala nang sapat na oras para ito'y i-reset pa kung yun nga ang pasya ng mayorya pag-resume namin sa May 20, tapos na ang eleksyon (If we adjourn, there won’t be enough time to reset it if that’s the decision of the majority when we reconvene on May 20; the election will have already taken place),” he said.
Escudero said the Senate is considering passing the bill on the third reading by next week even without Marcos' certification.
He previously filed a bill formalizing his proposal to defer the BARMM parliamentary elections, given the recent Supreme Court ruling on the exclusion of Sulu from the regional group.
He noted that the Senate version of the proposed measure might still be amended to delay the BARMM polls by five months, as recommended by security officials and in consideration of Sulu’s position.
“Binibigyan lang ng sapat na allowance at leeway kesa naman bumalik na naman sila sa Kongreso at humiling ng dagdag na dalawang buwan o isang buwan pang extension (We are just providing enough allowance and leeway rather than having them return to Congress to request another two-month or one-month extension),” Escudero said.