Senate passes bill resetting BARMM polls for the fourth time

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri thanked his colleagues in the Senate for their support as he successfully steered the passage of Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1823 on third and final reading during Monday’s plenary session, March 2, 2026. (Courtesy: Senate of the Philippines)

The Senate has passed on third and final reading a measure that sets the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary elections on the second Monday of September 2026.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, a member of the Bangsamoro Parliament, relayed that senators voted on Senate Bill 1823 on its final reading on March 2, 2026, moving it closer to becoming a law.

Sinarimbo also conveyed the message of Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, thanking Senator Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri and legislators in the upper chamber for passing the proposed measure.

Senate Bill 1823 is formally titled “Setting the First Parliament in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on the Second Monday of September 2026.”

Once enacted into law, the measure will effectively amend Article XVI, Section 13 of Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law as amended, providing that the first Parliamentary Elections shall be “held and synchronized with the 2022 national elections,” and after the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA) Parliament passes the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC).

A Series of Postponements

The first BARMM Parliament Elections originally scheduled for May 9, 2022, were postponed to May 2025 largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the absence of a Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC).

Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu, who contracted and recovered from the virus, sponsored the postponement bill in the House of Representatives.

After the BTA Parliament passed the BEC, the election was again postponed by the 19th Congress for the second time after the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that Sulu was not part of the Bangsamoro Region, leaving seven seats unallocated.

Lawmakers under Republic Act No. 12123 later rescheduled the BARMM polls for October 13, 2025.

The Supreme Court after an En Banc session on September 30, 2025 rescheduled the BARMM polls for the third time because of the cases pending in the tribunal, and the requisite time for the period of preparations on the part of the Commission on Elections.

Because of these factors, Senate Bill 1823 was passed resetting the first BARMM parliamentary elections for the fourth time. — Nash Maulana