Senate Majority Floor Leader Migz Zubiri on Monday called for the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BARMM) to be held on September 14, 2026, stressing that further delays would only undermine the people’s right to vote and worsen instability in the region.
Zubiri, the author of Senate Bill No. 1823, said the long-awaited elections have already been postponed four times since the original March 30, 2026 schedule was deferred, seven years after the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
“It has been seven years since the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, but our people have yet to exercise their right to vote for Members of the Bangsamoro Parliament,” he said.
“This is already the fourth postponement, and it has to be the final one. We cannot delay our people’s right to vote any longer… My fear is that the escalating violence in the region is at least partly tied to the repeated postponement of the election.”
The senator said there is broad support among BARMM stakeholders, the House of Representatives, and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for a September 2026 election date, which he described as the “best, earliest, and most practicable” option to finally hold the historic polls.