KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 08 June) – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has released the calendar of activities for the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on October 13, including the gun ban and campaign period. Under Comelec Resolution 11149, the gun ban is from August 14 to October 28, and the campaign period is from August 28 to October 11. The absolute ban on the release of public funds in the region, except for medical or burial assistance, is from October 3 to 13. On October 12, the eve of the election, a liquor ban will be implemented, and campaigning is prohibited. The Comelec set October 8 to 12 as the final testing and sealing of the automated counting machines that will be used for the BARMM. November 12 is the last day to file the statement of contributions and expenditures. The BARMM comprises the provinces of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Lanao del Sur; the cities of Marawi, Lamitan, and Cotabato; and eight towns from 63 villages in eight North Cotabato towns dubbed as Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area (SGA). Sulu was initially part of the BARMM until the Supreme Court (SC) ruled against its inclusion in a unanimous decision in September 2024. The SC ruling raised concerns because Republic Act 11054, the Organic Law for the BARMM, provides for an 80-seat parliament, with 40 party representatives, 32 single districts, and eight sectoral. Of the 32 districts, seven were allocated for Sulu. Member of Parliament Atty. Sittie Fahanie Uy-Oyod, chair of the Committee on Amendments, Revision, and Codification of Laws, said they will hold a public hearing for the reconstitution of the parliamentary districts in the BARMM and the reapportioning of the seven parliamentary seats allotted to Sulu, as a result of Sulu’s exclusion from the region. The committee hearing is set on Monday, June 9, at the BTA Parliament Building, Bangsamoro Government Complex in Cotabato City. The release of the Comelec’s calendar of activities for the BARMM parliamentary elections came as officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro government pushed for the October 13 polls to proceed as scheduled. In a statement on June 5, MILF vice chair Mohagher Iqbal, also the vice president of the United Justice Bangsamoro Party, the MILF’s political party, called on the national government, the two houses of Congress, the Commission on Elections, and all concerned stakeholders “to respect and follow the schedule and timeline set by law for the upcoming first parliamentary election on October 13, 2025.” Iqbal said reports reaching the MILF indicate that there is again another move to postpone the October 13 parliamentary elections. There has been no public call, thus far, on postponement of the polls. Iqbal, also chair of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, said the MILF Central Committee, chaired by Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, the interim Chief Minister from February 2019 to early March 2025, wants the October 13 polls to proceed. In a statement, Bangsamoro interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, concurrent Chief of Staff of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces and UBJP Secretary-General, said he supports the call of the MILF’s Murad and the national government to conduct the elections on October 13. He said the conduct of the elections is “integral to ensuring that the voices of the Bangsamoro people are heard and that their choices shape the future of our region.” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in early March this year appointed Macacua to replace Ebrahim as Chief Minister, after the law postponing the election to October 13 was passed. Since the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) was established in 2019, the first parliamentary elections in the BARMM had been postponed twice. The first extension was granted during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, through Republic Act 11593, which moved the first parliamentary election from May 2022 to May 2025. The second postponement was through RA 12123, which reset the May 12, 2025 election to October 13, 2025. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed the postponement bill into law on February 21, 2025. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
