Senate ratifies bicam report moving BARMM polls to Oct. 13, 2025
The Senate on Tuesday ratified the final version of the bill postponing the first-ever elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
According to Senator JV Ejercito, who acted as co-chairperson of the bicameral conference committee that finalized the bill, the BARMM polls will be moved to October 13, 2025 from May 12, 2025.
The next election shall be held and synchronized with the 2028 national election and every year thereafter.
The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) members will continue to serve as interim officials until their successors are elected and qualified.
Under the final bill, the BARMM government will disburse the share of Sulu province in the annual block grant following the rules and regulations set forth by the Department of Budget and Management.
The individuals who already filed their certificates of candidacies and the nominees for party representatives for the supposed May 12 elections shall be automatically considered as candidates for the October 13 polls.
The measure provides that the Commission on Elections will no longer open the filing of certificates of candidacy again or accept manifestations of intent to participate with a list of nominees, except for seats allocated to the province of Sulu.
The BARMM issued a statement earlier in the day welcoming the bill that postpones their first parliamentary elections.
“This legislative measure, which was certified as urgent by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., reflects the necessity of ensuring a smooth and well prepared transition before the region holds its first parliamentary elections,” the statement read.
“The resetting of the elections is a necessary step to fully implement the remaining aspects of the transition plan, including key governance reforms and the institutionalization of structures mandated by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB),” the BARMM added.
The BARMM’s parliamentary polls were supposed to take place in May 2022, but they were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the absence of the electoral code that set the rules for the region's election process.
In March 2023, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority passed the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, which will allow democratic participation in the local and regional elections. It would also open the creation of political parties in the region with representations from women, youth, indigenous people, settler communities, traditional leaders, and the Ulama.—LDF, GMA Integrated News