The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, 21 August, announced the postponement of the printing of official ballots for the 2025 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The Committees on Local Government and Codification of Laws approved last week the redistribution of 32 parliamentary district seats, mainly seven elective posts originally intended for Sulu province.
Under the Parliament Bill No. 351, an additional one seat will be added to the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato City, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA).
The bill, as it retained the total number of 32 parliamentary district seats contained in Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 58, redistributed the seats for Sulu after the Supreme Court ruled to exclude the province from the Bangsamoro region in September last year.
The bill proposes the allocation of 32 parliamentary districts 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 SGA.
The poll body said it postponed the scheduled printing of official ballots to a later date to "further study the implications of the approved bill."
Meanwhile, in an interview, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia assured that the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, which will be held on 13 October, will proceed as scheduled.