MANILA – Eighty seats are up for grabs as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) holds its first parliamentary elections Monday, a milestone in the region’s transition toward an elected parliament.

Forty seats will be allocated to Regional Parliamentary Political Parties (RPPP), while the remaining 40 will comprise 32 elected parliamentary district representatives and eight parliamentary sectoral representatives.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said 2,393,202 registered voters are expected to cast ballots for one parliamentary district representative, one parliamentary political party and six parliamentary sectoral organizations representing settler communities, women, youth, ulama and traditional leaders.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said the elections carry forward the Bangsamoro’s decades-long pursuit of self-government through the peace process.

“These elections stand on generations of Bangsamoro struggle for homeland, identity and self-determination, in the face of dispossession, marginalization, conflict, and sacrifice. That struggle ultimately found a political path through the peace process, which bound both the Bangsamoro and the national government to the difficult but necessary work of building meaningful self-government,” he said in a statement Sunday.

“The election before us carries that history forward: Institutions borne of struggle, negotiation and transition will now pass into the hands of representatives entrusted with the people’s mandate through the ballot.”

Garcia also appealed to voters, candidates and political parties to help keep the elections peaceful and orderly.

“Let every voter cast their ballot freely and without fear, and may every candidate and political party conduct themselves with restraint, respect for the process, and a shared commitment to preserving the safety of all,” he said.

Voting will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., while senior citizens, pregnant women and persons with disabilities may vote during an early voting period from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. Those unable to vote during the early period may still cast their ballots during regular voting hours.

The elections will use automated counting machines (ACMs) previously deployed in the May 2025 midterm elections.

Volunteers

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is deploying about 4,000 volunteers across BARMM, including around 1,000 who will take part in its unofficial parallel count.

“We are also involved in the RMA (Random Manual Audit) in Davao. We have command centers in BARMM and also one in the PPCRV – AMA Command Center in Makati City,” PPCRV national communications director Ana Singson said in a statement.

The group’s unofficial parallel count will run from Sept. 17 to 22.

Vote-buying?

Meanwhile, the Comelec-Committee on Kontra Bigay (anti-bribery) has directed former Comelec chairperson and parliamentary district candidate Sheriff Abas of Cotabato City’s First District to explain a social media post allegedly involving him in vote-buying.

In an order dated Sept. 12, the committee gave Abas a non-extendible 24-hour period from receipt of the show-cause order to submit a written explanation “why a complaint for election offense and/or petition for disqualification should not be filed” against him.

The case arose from a Facebook post alleging advance vote-buying. The post showed a sample ballot bearing Abas’ name alongside three PHP1,000 bills.

(PNA)