Comelec sets voter registration for BSKE, BPE from Feb 9-March 30

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to resume voter registration for the 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) and the first-ever Bangsamoro parliamentary polls from February 9 to March 30, 2026.

"Gusto namin i-announce na tayo ay magre-resume na ng registration of voters...sa buong Bangsamoro sa February 9," Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said Friday.

(We want to announce the Comelec will resume the registration of voters for the BSKE in the Bangsamoro region on February 9.)

Garcia reiterated this developed following the postponement of the inaugural parliamentary elections on March 30, 2026.

"'Yan ay bilang epekto ng pag-postpone ng election sa Bangsamoro sa March 30," he added.

(This is in light of the postponement of the Bangsamoro elections on March 30.)

On Thursday, the Comelec said the voter registration for the 2026 BSKE in the autonomous region is set to resume this month and later clarified the registration will also include voters who want to cast ballots for the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Election (BPE).

The elections body further explained the registration period in the Bangsamoro will end earlier than the nationwide registration period, which ends on May 18, citing the looming possibility the parliamentary elections will be held in September.

"Ito ay para sa BSKE at BPE sapagkat isa sa mga sinususog ng Comelec ay pabotohin na kung sino ang nakalista sa mismong araw ng elections sa Bangsamoro at hindi yung dating batas na kung saan ang makakaboto lang ay botante sa panahon ng May 12, 2025," said Garcia.

(The resumption is for the BSKE and BPE. The Comelec is pushing for the allowing of voters who were registered for the BPE to vote -- unlike the old law that only allows those who were registered for the May 12, 2025 elections to cast ballots for the BPE.)

"Bagamat ang BPE ay isang special na halalan, pwede malagay sa batas na ang makakaboto ay botante sa mismong araw ng halalan. Yun ay upang maiwasan ang disenfranchisement ng ating mga kababayan," he added.

(We think that is possible despite the BPE being a special election. This will also prohibit disenfranchisement among Filipinos.)

According to Garcia, the Comelec will reopen its Register Anywhere Program (RAP) for voter registration, allowing applicants to register in satellite sites in highly-urbanized cities and capital towns.

"Kung ikaw ay taga-Bangsamoro...pwede kayo magparehistro nang hindi mo kinakailangan pumunta sa probinsta nyo," he said.

(This means that if you are from BARMM, you can register even without going home to your province.)

"Pwede kayo magprehistro kung kayo ay nasa NCR at may RAP o nasa isang capital town o highly-urbanized city tulad ng Cebu at Cagayan de Oro," he added.

(You can register in NCR or RAP sites in capital towns or higly-urbanized cities such as Cebu and CDO.)

It can be recalled that the poll body earlier resumed nationwide voter registration for the 2026 BSKE from October 20, 2025 until May 18, 2026. However, the Bangsamoro region was exempted from the registration following the suspension of the region’s first parliamentary polls. — BAP, GMA Integrated News