KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 18 March) — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri appealed Wednesday to Bangsamoro leaders not to squander their people’s mandate as the first Bangsamoro parliamentary election, set in September 2026, is just a step away “from reality.”
On Tuesday, the Senate finally ratified the bicameral (bicam) committee report resetting the first Bangsamoro polls on the second Monday of September 2026, or September 14.
The Senate’s action clears one of the last major legislative steps for the measure resetting the first BARMM parliamentary elections on September 14, Zubiri said in a statement.
With the Senate’s ratification of the bicameral committee report on the resetting of the Bangsamoro elections on September 14, the next step is its transmittal to the Office of the President for signature, veto or let it lapse into law.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to sign the measure into law.
The conduct of the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is among the 21 priority legislative measures approved by Marcos during the Third Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) full meeting of the 20th Congress held in Malacañan Palace last month.
The first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections should have been held on May 9, 2022 but this was reset to May 12, 2025 and again reset to October 13, 2025 but did not push through because of the Supreme Court ruling in September last year declaring two Bangsamoro districting laws unconstitutional
Under Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law, BARMM voters will elect 80 Members of Parliament — 40 political party representatives, 32 single-district representatives and eight sectoral representatives.
Zubiri said the Senate’s ratification of resetting the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections in September 2026 is a step that “finally puts within reach a long-delayed vote central to the Bangsamoro people’s right to choose their own leaders and move beyond the transition period.”
“Now, I do have just one plea for whoever gets seats in the Bangsamoro Parliament this year: they have to make the most of their five-year term to help their region,” he said.
“To our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters, into an po ang hinihintay ninyo (this is what you have been waiting for),” Zubiri noted.
“The promise of the Bangsamoro Organic Law was always to recognize the Bangsamoro people’s right to self-determination, and that includes the people’s right to choose their own leaders,” Zubiri, principal author and sponsor of the Senate measure, stressed during the ratification of the bicam report.
“After years and years of delays, here it is, finally, it will happen. As Eid’l Fitr approaches, I hope this stands as a meaningful gift to our brothers and sisters in the BARMM, the long-awaited chance for them to choose their own leaders and help shape the future of their region,” he added.
Zubiri said the bicameral version did more than move the date, as it also simplified the election timeline and fixed the assumption of office of parliamentary officials, giving the region a clearer and more stable electoral cycle after months of legal and political uncertainty.
He said that aside from setting the first Bangsamoro election in September 2026, the bicam report scheduled the subsequent elections in the BARMM to coincide with the national and local elections in May 2031, and every three years thereafter.
The winners will assume office on October 30 this year until June 30, 2031, or a five-year term for the winners of the first Bangsamoro parliamentary election, Zubiri said.
He noted that those who win seats in the first Bangsamoro Parliament will carry a responsibility that goes beyond ordinary electoral victory because they will help define the foundations of regional governance for the years ahead.
“They are getting a rare opportunity that will never happen again, so I really hope that they use this time to lay down the foundations for genuine, long-term development in the Bangsamoro region,” Zubiri stated. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
