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MANILA, Philippines — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM) will have its first-ever elections next year.
This election will mark the end of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, which serves as the interim regional government of the BARRM.
However, there are calls from BARRM officials and even from House and Senate lawmakers to postpone the elections again.
Nevertheless, this did not stop the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from proceeding with preparations, as it recently completed the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for the BARRM polls.
This primer will cover key dates, the workings of the regional parliament, and the reasons behind the calls to postpone the polls.
Q: When is BARRM Election Day?
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A: It will be held on May 12, 2025, the same day as the midterm elections.
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Q: Does that mean BARRM voters will have two ballots to fill?
A: Yes. One for the national elections and the other for the BARRM polls.
Q: How many seats does the BARRM Parliament have?
A: The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) mandates an 80-member parliament.
Enacted on July 27, 2018, the BOL established the BARMM as a political entity and defined its basic governmental structure.
Q: Are all of the 80 seats up for grabs?
A: No. The BARRM Parliament only has 73 seats. And of these 73, only 65 seats are up for grabs.
Twenty-five of the 65 seats are allotted for parliamentary district representatives.
The rest or 40 of them are reserved for regional parliamentary political parties, which is similar to the party-list system.
Meanwhile, eight of the 73 seats are for sectoral groups, which shall be elected in their own convention or assembly separate from the parliamentary polls.
Q: What happened to the other seven seats?
A: The Supreme Court excluded Sulu province from BARRM after the majority of the province voted against the BOL ratification. As a result, the seven seats originally allocated to Sulu in the parliament were not filled.
Q: Why are there calls to postpone the BARRM polls?
A: Proponents argue that the polls should be postponed to address the recent exclusion of Sulu from the BARMM.
Q: When do they want to conduct the polls instead?
A: On May 11, 2026.
Q: What did the Congress do to address this?
A: Both the House of Representatives and the Senate filed respective bills to reset the polls in the autonomous region.
Q: Is the Comelec still preparing for the elections despite this?
A: Yes. Comelec recently conducted the COC filing from Nov. 4 to 9.
Q: Did local politicians file COCs despite the possibility of postponement?
A: Yes. A total of 109 parliamentary aspirants filed their COCs.
Of the 109 aspirants, Lanao del Sur has the highest share at 41, followed by Maguindanao del Norte with 24, Maguindanao del Sur with 15, Tawi-Tawi with 10, Basilan with 14, and five from the BARMM Special Geographic Area.
Q: If the postponement of the polls pushes through, what would happen to the COCs filed?
A: The Comelec said the COCs filed for the May 2025 BARRM polls will not be honored for the new election date.
“Unless the law itself, if ever, states that whoever filed their candidacy now would also be the candidate once the elections get reset,” according to Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia.
READ: Comelec cites rule on BARMM COC filing if polls moved to 2026
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Garcia said parliamentary aspirants would have to file new COCs if they wish to participate in the 2026 polls.