The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday announced it officially postponed the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) originally scheduled on March 30, citing both legal and operational constraints.
The decision was approved through a Comelec resolution after careful assessment of the commission’s preparedness and the prevailing legal requirements governing the conduct of the elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said a new enabling law from Congress is required to formally fix a new date for the Bangsamoro polls, adding that Comelec lacks the authority to proceed without this legislation, making the postponement unavoidable.
Operational challenges also played a major role in the decision, according to Garcia, who said that the remaining time—roughly one month and two weeks—is insufficient to complete the extensive preparations required for an exercise as complex as the BPE.
These preparations include logistics, personnel deployment, voter education, ballot printing, and coordination with security forces and local stakeholders.
The poll body further clarified that it is currently awaiting action from Congress to pass a law that will determine the new election schedule. Until such legislation is enacted, Comelec said it cannot finalize its operational calendar or begin full-scale election preparations for BARMM.
Despite the postponement, Comelec assured the public that the P1.5-billion budget allocated for the BPE remains intact.
Garcia confirmed that the funds have not been used or diverted and will be preserved exclusively for the conduct of the elections once a new date is legally established.
There have been appeals for the BPE not to be conducted in 2027 or, more critically, in 2028, as this would coincide with the national elections, including the presidential and vice-presidential races.
Holding multiple major elections simultaneously could strain resources and complicate election administration.
