MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it has decided not to start the printing of ballots for the Bangsamoro Parliament Elections (BPE) given recent developments.
In a brief statement, Comelec chairperson George Garcia said they would only be printing ballots for the May 12 national and local elections.
“Because of these recent developments we did not yet proceed with the printing of the BARMM parliamentary ballots. Only the national and local elections ballots,” he said.
“The reason is because we may end up opening the filing of certificate of candidacy anew for the region in the event of redistricting as a result of reapportionment of the slots originally assigned to Sulu,” Garcia added.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has certified as urgent the proposed measure postponing the parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Marcos supports the immediate passage of Senate Bill 2942 to “address the urgent need of the Bangsamoro transitional government to realign its governance structure.”
“Let’s just wait for the passage of law,” Garcia said. “There are a lot of adjustments to be made.”
Asked if they anticipated such development, Garcia said, “No. We thought all along that the parliamentary elections will push thru.”
There are two versions of the bill on the postponement of the elections in BARMM. In the version of the House of Representatives that was approved on third and final reading, the BARMM elections should be held in May 2026.
However, in the Senate version, which is currently on second reading, the BARMM polls would be moved from May 12, 2025 to August 11, 2025.
The Comelec has started the reprinting of the ballots on Monday (January 27, 2025) after printing activities were stopped due to the temporary restraining orders issued by the Supreme Court on the cases of national and local aspirants earlier disqualified by the poll body.
Garcia said they would be doing more adjustments regarding the preparations for the upcoming elections. (PNA)