Comelec: Bill to move BARMM polls to Sept. 2026 may pass this week

The Commission on Election (Comelec) on Sunday said the measure resetting the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to September 14, 2026 may be approved this week.

“Bago mag-adjourn ang Kongreso, naniniwala tayo na ito’y maipapasa na sa linggong ito sapagkat ito ay na-certify as urgent ng ating pangulo,” Comelec Chairperson George Garcia told Super Radyo dzBB.

(Before the Congress adjourns its session, we believe the bill will be approved this week, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified it as urgent.)

Both the Senate and House of Representatives approved the bill moving the date of the BARMM elections on third and final reading.

In January, Comelec postponed the first-ever Bangsamoro elections for the fourth time, citing “legal and operational” constraints following the delayed passage of the BARMM redistricting law.

In October 2025, the Supreme Court ordered the postponement of the Bangsamoro elections originally set for October 13 and reallocated Sulu’s 32 parliamentary seats to other BARMM provinces.

The redistricting law was enacted after the High Court ruled in 2024 that Sulu is not a part of the BARMM.

Garcia said Comelec is ready to cater to the 2.3 million registered voters in BARMM.

“Ang importante, nagkaroon ng bagong districting law. Binabago ang mga distrito at the same time, may ilang pagbabago rin tulad sa kung paano ang pagboto na mangyayari sa mga kababayan natin sa Bangsamoro,” Garcia said.

(What’s important is that a new districting law has been enacted. It changes the districts, and at the same time, there are also some changes, such as people in Bangsamoro will vote.)

Comelec ops adjustment

Garcia also said that, although Comelec wants to implement a four-day on-site workweek, it could not do so due to the workload for the upcoming BARMM and Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on November 2.

Instead, they will implement a new protocol for energy conservation.

This includes turning off the air conditioning two hours before office hours end, turning off unused lights, conducting Zoom meetings instead of in-person meetings, and carpooling.

The President earlier announced that starting March 9, 2026, a four-day workweek will temporarily be implemented in offices under the executive department.

This was part of his call to save energy resources amid the conflict in the Middle East that severely impeded the shipping of petroleum products in the Strait of Hormuz, which is considered the world's most vital oil export route.

The narrow strait connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. —RF, GMA Integrated News