MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday urged aspirants for the May 12, 2025 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) to register their candidacies for the upcoming polls.
Comelec chairman George Garcia made the appeal after learning of the low number of certificates of candidacy (COCs) as parliamentary district representatives and certificates of acceptance of nomination (CANs) for regional parliamentary political parties (RPPP) that were filed for the BPE, during the first three days of the six-day filing period.
“It remains low,” he said in a phone interview, even as he urged all BPE aspirants not to wait for the deadline before filing their COCs or CANs.
“File now. Let’s not wait for the last day.”
The filing period began on Monday and will run until November 9.
As of Wednesday, a total of 24 aspirants for parliamentary district representatives have filed their COCs, including 13 in Lanao del Sur, four in Basilan, three in Maguindanao del Norte, two in Tawi-Tawi, and two in Maguindanao del Sur.
Meanwhile, only one RPPP bet has filed its CAN, its list of nominees, and its Manifestation of Intent to Participate in the Parliamentary Elections (MIP-PE).
Garcia said the low turnout so far was expected amid calls to postpone the BPE.
“This is expected because of the rumors of postponement and the practice of Filipinos to do everything at the last minute,” he said.
For the May 12, 2025 BPE, candidates will vie for 25 parliamentary district seats, with eight in Lanao del Sur, four in Maguindanao del Norte, four in Maguindanao del Sur, three in Basilan, three in Tawi-Tawi, two in Cotabato City, and one in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) in Cotabato province.
On the other hand, 40 seats for regional parliamentary political parties are up for grabs. (PNA)