ONE month since the opening of the voter registration period, more than 55,000 residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) have registered to vote in the November 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
From February 9 to March 9, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) recorded a total of 55,515 voter registrants in Barmm.
Lanao del Sur had the highest number of applicants with 13,399, followed by Maguindanao del Norte with 12,520, and Basilan with 8,483.
Maguindanao del Sur has a total of 7,895 applicants, followed by the Tawi-Tawi with 6,988, and the Special Geographic Area with 6,230.
To note, the voter registration period in Barmm will run from February 9 to March 31, 2026, with some 100,000 projected to apply to become registered voters.
Meanwhile, the voter registration period nationwide, except in Barmm, began in October 20, 2025 and will run until May 18, 2026 with the Comelec looking to enlist as many as four million individuals.
So far, nearly 2.9 million applicants are now looking to become registered voters in time for the November 2026 BSKE.
According to the Comelec, a total of 2,875,807 applications for voter registration have already been received across all regions from October 20 to March 7.
Seeing the most number of applicants is Calabarzon with 501,212 individuals, followed by the Central Luzon with 333,038, and National Capital Region with 298,962.
Other regions with a high number of voter registrants are Central Visayas with 172,801, Bicol Region with 169,270, Northern Mindanao with 143,080, Negros Island Region with 142,080, and Davao Region with 132,489. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)