MANILA — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has filed a bill seeking to reset the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) first parliamentary elections to March 2026, citing the importance of allowing the region’s people to elect their own leaders.

Zubiri filed Senate Bill No. 1587, which proposes to amend Section 13, Article XVI of Republic Act 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), and move the BARMM elections to March 30, 2026. Under the measure, the terms of elected officials will begin at noon of April 30 following the election.

The bill also provides that the succeeding BARMM elections will be synchronized with the 2028 national elections and every three years thereafter.

“It has been more than six years since the BARMM was established, and the Bangsamoro people have yet to exercise their power to elect their own leaders. The core principles of BOL is self-governance and self-determination, and these cannot be achieved without the people’s right to vote,” Zubiri said.

“Kaya we are filing this bill to push for the BARMM’s parliamentary elections this March. Para may mandato ng batas ang kauna-unahang eleksyon sa rehiyon,” he added.

Under the proposal, the Commission on Elections (Comelec), through the Bangsamoro Electoral Office, will promulgate rules and regulations for the conduct of the elections and administer them in accordance with national law, the BOL and the Bangsamoro Electoral Code.

Zubiri, known as the “Father of the BOL” as the author and sponsor of the law, said the bill takes into account two major Supreme Court actions: the ruling excluding Sulu from BARMM and the decision striking down the Bangsamoro Parliament’s 2025 redistricting law, which ordered a new and valid apportionment before elections could proceed.

According to Zubiri, both rulings require authorities, including Comelec, to reset plans, reallocate seats and redo election preparations such as precinct assignments and ballots based on a corrected legal framework.

Earlier this week, the Bangsamoro Parliament passed BTA Bill No. 415, or the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2025, in the early hours of Jan. 13 after more than 10 hours of session, marking a key step toward the region’s first parliamentary elections.

The BOL provides that the Bangsamoro Parliament shall have at least 80 members, with 50 percent elected through party representation, not more than 40 percent through single-member districts, and at least 10 percent reserved for sectors such as non-Moro Indigenous Peoples, settler communities, women, youth, traditional leaders and the ulama.

“We all know what’s at stake here: a Bangsamoro government elected freely by its people. Kaya napakahalaga na matuloy na ang halalan sa BARMM. Dalangin natin ang mabilisang enactment ng panukala natin para maisakatuparan na ang paghahanda sa Marso,” Zubiri said.

Under the bill, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will continue to serve as the interim government during the extension of the transition period, unless the President replaces any interim members or their tenure is shortened due to election to another office.

Interim members will serve until their successors are elected and qualified through an automated election.