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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
February 21, 2025 | 7:34pm
A stage set up on Jan. 24, 2025 in front of the Bangsamoro regional capitol in Cotabato City.
Philstar.com / Camille Diola
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a measure postponing the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections from May to October this year.
The Senate passed the bill on February 3, paving the way for Republic Act 12123, which officially resets the first BARMM elections. The chamber cited the need for adjustments in the region's parliamentary structure following Sulu’s exclusion from the autonomous region.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin confirmed to reporters that Marcos signed the measure into law on February 19.
“The first regular election for the Bangsamoro Government under this Organic Law shall be held on October 13, 2025. The next election shall be held and synchronized with the 2028 national elections and every three years thereafter,” the proposed Senate version of the law states.
Lovely Tolentino-Nava, Director IV of the Malacañang Records Office, formally transmitted a certified copy of RA 12123 to Commission on Elections Chair George Garcia earlier this week.
“I have the honor to transmit for your information and guidance, a certified true copy of Republic Act No. 12123 which was approved on February 19, 2025,” Tolentino-Nava wrote in her letter to Garcia.
Garcia shared copies of the letter with the media on Friday, February 21. The BARMM elections were originally scheduled to coincide with the midterm elections in May but will now take place five months later, on Oct. 13, 2025. — with reports from Cristina Chi
