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MANILA, March 6, 2026 (SDN) — Preparations for the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections seems to have started at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headed by Chairman George Erwin Garcia.
SDN Online learned about this through an “Excerpt from the Minutes of the Referendum Consultation of the Commission on Elections Held on March 06, 2026”.
The poll body’s referendum consultation was in response to the Office of the Chairman’s (OOC) Memorandum issued on March 4, 2026, which submitted for consideration by the Commission En Banc the draft Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC), or Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 35 as amended by BAA No. 88, including the Proposed Templates and Forms for use in the 2026 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) for immediate inclusion in the Commission’s agenda.
The Palacio del Governador in Intramuros, Manila, where the Commission on Elections (Comelec) holds the fort. (Photo: SDN)The poll body emphasized in the minutes of the referendum consultation that “to ensure the faithful, orderly, and effective implementation of the BEC, Commission finds it necessary to approve and adopt the “2026 Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Bangsamoro Electoral Code of 2023 (2026 BEC IRR).”
To make the story short, the poll body through its Resolution No. 26-0193, has “…RESOLVED, as it hereby RESOLVES:
” To APPROVE, ADOPT, PROMULGATE the 2026 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 35, as amended by BAA No. 88, otherwise known as the “2026 BEC IRR.”
Here’s the Excerpt from the Referendum Consultation of the Comelec:
Garcia led the resolution’s signatories including Commissioners Aimee P. Ferolino, Ernesto Ferdinand P. Maceda, Jr., Maria Norina S. Tangaro-Casingal, Rey E. Bulay, Nelson J. Celis, and Noli R. Pipo.
In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), support for the holding of the already four times delayed, postponed, re-scheduled first regular elections has gained much following, including BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua.
Non-Government and People’s Organizations are also in support as they fear that another postponement would be detrimental to peace and security in the Bangsamoro region.
Support from Congress’s two chambers are also known, with the Senate already passed in third reading a bill scheduling the parliamentary polls.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has openly declared his support, even urging the House of Representatives to pass their bill on the regional political exercise.
But even amid all this support, observers said the parliamentary elections would only be said to be happening when people are already in voting precincts in September 2026 and exercising their right of suffrage. — EDD K. USMAN (©)