Presidential Adviser on Peace Carlito Galvez Jr. warned on November 19 of the dangers of further delaying parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), urging interim officials to set an early 2026 schedule to avoid a political vacuum. Former chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer cautioned that no election in 2026 would mean no decommissioning of weapons and combatants, no exit agreement, and much uncertainty. The statements came at a conference in Makati City.
At the 'After the Peace Agreements: The Bangsamoro and Beyond' conference in Makati City, Galvez stressed that while postponement may be needed to address legal hurdles, the timeline must stay tight. 'We have to have a different perspective. It is truly good to have an election,' he said. 'The longer it takes, the higher the expectations and the higher the risks will come.'
Galvez noted that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) is coordinating with the Senate, through Senate President Pro Tempore Juan Miguel Zubiri, the House of Representatives, and the Bangsamoro Parliament to synchronize efforts. The main obstacle is the need for a new redistricting law from the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to comply with a Supreme Court decision.
In late September, the Supreme Court ruled Bangsamoro Autonomy Acts (BAA) 58 and 77 unconstitutional, delaying the region's first parliamentary elections set for October. The court required the BTA to finalize parliamentary seat distribution and instructed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to hold polls no later than March 31, 2026. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the ruling is immediately executory unless reversed by the SC.
Five bills on parliamentary redistricting have been filed in the region, with the BTA targeting passage in the second week of December. Coronel-Ferrer urged the Bangsamoro Parliament to compromise and pass the law quickly, saying, 'May the greater good prevail over self-serving interests.'
The two-day conference, organized by the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG), OPAPRU, and the Bangsamoro Government with Australian support, drew over 200 participants from government, civil society, and the diplomatic corps, including the Japanese ambassador who called the election 'critical.' BARMM interim Chief Minister Abdularaof Macacua discussed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)'s shift from armed struggle to governance, stating, 'These [former] rebels have asserted their rights with arms and violence for most of their lives. Now they want to learn how to assert their rights through democracy.'