The Commission on Elections (Comelec) stopped printing ballots for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary polls, after the bicameral conference committee approved moving its elections to October 2025.
“We halted the printing of the ballots for the BARMM Parliamentary Elections because there is a high possibility that there is already an enrolled bill, which may become a law,” poll chairman George Garcia said Monday.
The bill, which moves the Bangsamoro region’s first elections from May 12 to October 13, 2025, was approved by the bicameral conference committee.
Under the measure, those who have filed their certificates of candidacy and the nominees for party representatives for the originally scheduled May 12 elections are automatically considered candidates for the October 13 elections.
Garcia said the Comelec will no longer accept new filings for candidacy or expressions of intent to participate, with the exception of seats allotted to the province of Sulu.
The next BARMM election after October 13 is scheduled for 2028, coinciding with the national elections, and will be held annually after that.
Members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will remain acting as interim officials in light of the postponement.
Garcia earlier said the Comelec would need at least P2.5 billion in additional funds if the Bangsamoro Parliament elections were moved to a later date.
However, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified the bill as urgent to address the Bangsamoro transitional government’s pressing need to realign its governance structure.
The move is meant to guarantee that the region’s goals of inclusivity, unity, and true autonomy are realized.
Meanwhile, the Comelec said the printing of ballots for the May 2025 midterm polls continues, while ballots for BARMM were stopped.
“Around 32 million ballots have already been printed, 42 percent of the total required ballots for the upcoming elections,” Garcia said, adding that the printing of ballots will be completed by March, as scheduled.