BARMM voter registration reaches 84,859 as poll preps continue

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March 21, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Voter registration in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has reached 84,859 as of March 19, with 1,814 new applications recorded in a single day, as preparations continue for the first BARMM parliamentary elections scheduled on Sept. 14.

In the latest data, Lanao del Sur posted the highest number of registrants at 22,555 from Feb. 9 to March 19, followed by Maguindanao del Norte with 18,629, Maguindanao del Sur with 13,583, Basilan with 11,713, Tawi-Tawi with 9,844 and the Special Geographic Area with 8,535.

For March 19 alone, Maguindanao del Norte logged the highest number of new applications at 916, followed by Maguindanao del Sur with 260, Lanao del Sur with 213, Tawi-Tawi with 170, Basilan with 140 and the Special Geographic Area with 115.

Of the day’s total applicants, 878 were male voters and 936 were females.

The cumulative figure, meanwhile, reflected a nearly even gender distribution, with 42,455 male and 42,404 female applicants.

Only six applications on March 19 were processed under the Register Anywhere Program, all of them in Tawi-Tawi.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said on Wednesday that the BARMM parliamentary elections now appear certain after both the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the measure setting the poll date.

“The good news is that the Senate and the House of Representatives passed last night the measure setting the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections on Sept. 14. This means that the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections now appear all but certain,” Garcia said.

He said the Comelec is only waiting for President Marcos to sign the law in the coming days.

As with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, the Comelec is duty-bound to implement the law unless it is amended, Garcia said.

“That is already a law, just like in the barangay and SK elections, and unless the law is amended, that is what the Comelec will implement,” he said.