THE chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms on Monday welcomed the move to elevate a bill resetting the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as a priority measure of both the executive and legislative branches, calling it vital to safeguarding the region’s fragile democratic transition.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong made the statement after House Bill (HB) No. 7236, which he co-authored, was recently included in the common legislative agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
“The inclusion of this measure in the LEDAC priority list reflects a shared commitment between the Executive and the Legislature to protect the integrity of the Bangsamoro democratic transition,” Adiong said.
Adiong thanked President Marcos, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III, and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos for recognizing the urgency of this measure and for including it in the LEDAC agenda.”
HB 7236, which Adiong co-authored with Deputy Speaker and fellow Lanao del Sur Rep. Yasser Alonto Balindong, seeks to amend Section 13, Article XVI of Republic Act (RA) No. 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law, to set Sept. 28, 2026 as the date of the first regular parliamentary elections in the region.
Subsequent elections would be synchronized with the 2028 national and local polls and held every three years thereafter.
The reset follows a string of legal and political developments, including a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Bangsamoro redistricting law after Sulu was excluded from the region, effectively removing the legal basis for holding the parliamentary vote under the previous framework.
“As a consequence of this ruling, the legal basis for conducting parliamentary elections under the previously enacted BARMM redistricting law was rendered invalid,” the authors said in the bill’s explanatory note.
“This created a constitutional and statutory gap that must be addressed by Congress to ensure that the forthcoming Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections are conducted on a sound legal footing, consistent with the Constitution,” the note added.
The bill’s authors framed the elections as the final step in completing the transition mandated under the Organic Law.
RA 11054 established the BARMM and laid down the framework for the transition from the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to a democratically elected Bangsamoro Parliament.
Under Article XVI, Section 13 of the law, the conduct of the first regular parliamentary elections is a critical milestone to complete the transition process and fully operationalize the Bangsamoro Government.
HB 7236 provides that the BTA will continue exercising interim powers during the extended transition period until the elected Parliament assumes office.
It directs the Commission on Elections to administer the Sept. 28, 2026 vote and retains the automated election system used in the May 2025 national and local elections, unless the poll body determines otherwise.
The bill also reopens the filing period for candidates and sectoral organizations, clarifies voter eligibility based on the latest registration rolls, sets Dec. 1, 2026 as the assumption of office of winning candidates, and authorizes funding through current and future appropriations.
Adiong said the bill ultimately “seeks to uphold constitutional supremacy, comply with the Supreme Court ruling on legislative redistricting, preserve the integrity of the Bangsamoro peace process, and ensure that the transition to a fully elected Bangsamoro Parliament is achieved in a lawful, transparent, and democratic manner.”
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