Three Senate committees have endorsed a proposal to schedule the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for September 2026, to ensure sufficient preparation time and support peace efforts in the Muslim-majority area. This follows multiple postponements since the region's establishment in 2019.
On February 5, 2026, three Senate committees—on local government, electoral reforms and people’s participation, and finance—conducted a joint hearing to review a proposal resetting the first regular BARMM elections to the second Monday of September, specifically September 14. The session examined the compliance of Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 86 and related BARMM laws with the Constitution and the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
BAA 86, enacted by the BARMM Parliament in January, restructures parliamentary districts by adding seven seats to reach the full 80-member body. These seats were originally reserved for Sulu, but remained unallocated after the province's exclusion in 2024 due to a Supreme Court ruling, leaving the decision to the regional government.
This redistricting followed a September 2025 Supreme Court decision invalidating two prior districting laws as unconstitutional. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri stated that the reset would enable the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to finalize voter registration and organize political and sectoral parties.
“This will be a special law. We will not synchronize succeeding BARMM parliamentary elections with national and local polls, giving time to focus on the elections in BARMM each time,” Zubiri said.
Liezl Bugtay, senior program manager at Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA), emphasized the need for prompt elections to counter violent extremist groups targeting Moro youth. “If we do not act now, the promises of democracy embedded in this electoral exercise will mean very little to an exasperated Moro youth who, at this very moment, are being attracted and enticed by the quick and violent actions of violent extremists,” she told senators.
Bugtay noted support from the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) and other civil society groups for the earliest possible vote. BARMM, established in 2019, has held no parliamentary elections; the planned 2022 poll was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and postponed three times since 2025. Under the proposal, the September 14, 2026, elections take precedence over pending local plebiscites, with subsequent ones every three years. Zubiri said the Senate targets passage on third reading before its March break. This Senate action followed a similar endorsement by the House committee on suffrage two days earlier.
