DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 November) – The Commission on Elections’ (Comelec’s) release on Tuesday of the calendar of activities and period of prohibited acts in connection with “March 30, 2026” as the date of the 1st Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections has left constituents and peace stakeholders confused as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) has yet to pass a new districting law and Congress, which sets the date of elections, has yet to pass a law.
But others welcome the resolution to pressure the BTA into passing the new law. The Comelec spokesperson said they were just complying with the September 30, 2025 decision of the Supreme Court that the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) be held “not later than March 31, 2026.”
The Comelec en banc passed Resolution 11181 on November 19, 2025 on the calendar of activities but made this public only on November 25.
But on November 24, a day before the resolution was released to the public, and five days after Comelec promulgated Resolution 11181, chair George Erwin Garcia told reporters in Metro Manila that it would be “difficult” for the Comelec to hold the BPE by March 31 next year if a new districting law is not passed by the end of the month.
The Philippine Star quoted Garcia as saying, “If a new districting law is not passed by the end of the month, the Comelec would not be able to hold the automated elections before March 31,” Garcia said.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted him as saying that his statement was not meant to put pressure on the Bangsamoro Parliament to pass the new law but because the Comelec needs the law so that “our scheduled timelines will be followed because if those are not followed … how can we conduct an automated Bangsamoro parliamentary election that should be held by March 31 according to the high court?” he said.
“In anticipation of”
MindaNews asked Comelec spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco on the March 30, 2026 date when the BTA Parliament has not passed a districting law and Congress has not passed a law setting the date of the elections. He replied: “It’s in anticipation of the current Parliament passing said law in compliance with the Supreme Court decision. It’s also a way to inform the BTA and the public of Comelec’s commitment as well to comply with our part as directed by the Supreme Court. Stated in the same decision as well is that for the Comelec to hold the BARMMPE not later than March 31, 2025.”
Garcia was quoted by the state-run Philippine News Agency on November 25 as saying that they set March 30, 2026 as date of the election “on the assumption that there is a (new districting) law.”
The Supreme Court on September 30 declared the previous districting laws — Bangsamoro Autonomy Acts 58 and 77 — unconstitutional, a decision immediately executory, making it impossible to hold the elections last October 13. The Court directed the BTA to “immediately undertake by October 30, 2025 at the latest” the passage of a new law for the 32 parliamentary district seats “in strict compliance with the priorities and requirements provided to the Bangsamoro Organic Law, as well as the criteria laid down in this decision.”
It also urged Congress to “promptly enact a law that would reschedule the BARMM Parliamentary Elections … as much as practicable, not later than March 31, 2026.”
120 days
The Supreme Court also directed Comelec that immediately after the passage of the new districting law, it has to “proceed with its preparations and conduct the elections in compliance (with Section 5 of the Voter’s Registration Act) not later than March 31, 2026.”
Section 5 of the Voters’ Registration Act provides that “no territory comprising an election precinct shall be altered or a new precinct be established at the start of the election period” and “splitting of an original precinct or merger of two or more original precincts shall not be allowed without redrawing the precinct map/s one hundred twenty (120) days before election day.”
Among the reasons why BAA 77 was declared unconstitutional was because it did not meet the 120-day requirement.
If elections were to be held on March 31, 2026, reckoning 120 days would be November 30, 2025. This was why after the BTA failed to meet the October 30 deadline, Garcia said it had up to November 30 to pass the new law if elections were to be held in accordance with the Supreme Court’s “not later than March 31, 2026” directive.
But the BTA cannot pass the law by November 30 as the sessions this week (November 24-27) have been suspended to give way to the committee hearings on the 2026 BARMM budget.
Calendar of activities
Resolution 11181 set the date of the filing of certificates of candidacy from January 5 to 9, 2026; election period from January 29 to April 14; campaign period and the campaign period from February 12 to March 28.
Lawyer Benedicto Bacani, Executive Director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance told MindaNews on Wednesday that the Comelec’s resolution is “a way to comply with the SC decision.”
“But the enforcement part of the resolution is subject to the passage of the districting law by the BTA. With the resolution, Comelec is not at fault if elections are not held in March 2026 because BTA fails to pass the districting law,” Bacani said.
He said Comelec is just “reiterating its role as just implementing election policies which are the responsibility of BTA and Congress.”
“Intended or not, resolution adds pressure on BTA to pass the districting law in time,” he said.
History professor Tirmizy Abdullah of the Moro Consensus Group, told MindaNews on Wednesday that the Comelec is “further confusing the public by adding unnecessary complications to the issue.”
“While we strongly support the immediate holding of the first BARMM election, it is unclear how Comelec can set the date for March 30, 2026 without enabling legislation from Congress and without the required redistricting law,” he said.
“We call for genuine, concrete actions from Comelec and the national government to ensure that election truly proceeds. Right now, it appears that these announcements merely create noise and distract from other pressing national issues,” he added.
Deputy Speaker Omar Sema said they “welcome the Comelec’s setting of the date of first BPE.”
“Though there are variables that they need to consider to make the date practicable or doable and to avoid constitutional questions on the resolution. But at least our party, the Bangsamoro Party now have a working date for reignition again of our campaign, considering that we are badly depleted in terms of resources as a consequence of the botched election last October.”
MP and Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal, concurrent chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Peace Implementing Panel, said the Parliament “can easily pass the districting law if we want it, and have our election in March. The only thing needed is leadership, push, and bringing the sponsors to a caucus. I am a negotiator and dealing with a stronger party is difficult.”
The MILF and Philippine government signed a peace agreement in 2014 – the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro – that paved the way for the establishment of the BARMM. But the Aquino administration failed to pass the Organic Law. It was passed in 2018 during the Duterte administration and ratified in a plebiscite in January 2019.
Fair representation, credibility of elections
Lawyer Ona Caritos, Executive Director of the election monitoring group, Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE), said the BTA Parliament may be busy with the 2026 budget “but the redistricting law cannot be pushed aside.”
“With the 30 March elections announced, failing to enact this law risks undermining fair representation and the credibility of the upcoming polls,” Caritos told MindaNews on Wednesday.
She said that given the Comelec’s schedule on the filing of certificates of candidacy from January 5 to 9, “the BTA must act before the year ends. Any further delay risks creating confusion among candidates, voters, and election administrators.”
“Fast-tracking this measure is both justified and necessary to restore confidence in the transition process and ensure the region enters the elections with lawful representative districts.
According to the BTA’s calendar of sessions, there will be 12 session days in December : 1 to 4, 8 to 11, and 15-18.
Five parliamentary bills on the allocation of 32 districts across the BARMM are pending at the Bangsamoro Parliament’s Joint Committees on Rules and Local Governments. A sixth bill deals only with the proposed two districts in the Special Geographic Area.
No bill on setting the date of the 1st Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections has been filed at the House of Representatives and the Senate as both houses are awaiting the passage of the BTA’s new districting law.
“Best efforts”
BTA Speaker Mohammad Yacob told MindaNews on November 18 that the Parliament committed to pass a new districting law “even earlier than Nov. 30. However, the question is, is it possible? Considering that the Parliament should ensure all legal processes.”
Reminded there are only a few session days left until November 30, Yacob replied then: “the Parliament did not set a date like November 30 but we are maximizing our efforts to pass this law as soon as possible within this year. Best efforts this year.”
MindaNews asked Yacob and Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua to comment on Comelec’s Resolution 11181 but they have not sent their reply as of 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The 1st BARMM Parliamentary Elections was supposed to be on May 9, 2022 but this was reset to May 12, 2025 and again reset to October 13, 2025. The October 13 polls did not push through because the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the two districting laws passed by the BTA.
The BTA governs the BARMM during the transition period that started in February 2019 after the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Organic Law for the BARMM. It was supposed to have ended on June 30, 2022, but this was extended until June 30, 2025 when the first elected officials were supposed to have assumed their posts, but reset again to October 30, 2025, supposedly after the October 13 polls, which did not push through.
The appointed Members of Parliament have been on holdover status since October 30. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
