THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday, October 8, 2025, that there is still no date for the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE).
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they have yet to schedule the polls as their actions depend on the passage of a new law by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).
“As long as no law is passed by the Bangsamoro parliament, the Comelec cannot prepare and cannot fix the election periods. The Supreme Court merely said it should not be later than March 31,” Garcia said.
He added that they are in constant communication with the BTA regarding the status of the new Bangsamoro districting law.
“We are regularly asking the parliament if there is already a proposed law or even movement for its enactment,” Garcia said.
Earlier, the Supreme Court (SC) declared the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act 58 and 77 unconstitutional.
The SC directed the BTA to craft a new districting law by October 30, 2025.
The ruling also resulted in the postponement of the BPE to a date no later than March 31, 2026.
Comelec said the postponement has cost the agency P1.2 billion in wasted funds.
Of that amount, P500 million went to the printing of official BPE ballots.
Garcia said they are seeking to recover the wasted funds as preparations for the BPE are now back to zero.
“We need to ask for an additional budget, likely similar to how much we lost or even more,” he said.
He noted that the poll body will have to pay again for the deployment and retrieval of poll paraphernalia.
“We have already distributed the poll materials, so we will have to pay for the deployment. Also, there is reverse logistics, which will also be included in the payables,” Garcia added. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)