MORE than 100 aspirants have filed their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) for Regional Parliamentary District Representatives for the September 2026 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE).
Data released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed that there are a total of 108 COCs filed during the three-day period (May 5 to 7, 2026).
These include 17 for Basilan, 33 for Lanao del Sur, 11 for Maguindanao del Norte, 16 for Maguindanao del Sur, 13 for Tawi-Tawi, seven for Special Geographic Area, and 11 for Cotabato City.
To note, there will be 32 parliamentary district representatives who will be elected during the BPE.
These include four seats for Basilan, nine seats for Lanao del Sur, five for Maguindanao del Norte, five for Maguindanao del Sur, four for Tawi Tawi, two for the Special Geographic Area, and three for Cotabato City.
On Friday, May 8, 2026, the COCs filed in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) are expected to be brought to the Comelec's head office in Intramuros, Manila.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the COCs will then be evaluated and approved by the commission en banc next week.
"After seeing all the COCs and knowing if the declarations there are really correct, we can already approve the list," said Garcia.
He said the COCs to be approved by the poll body shall be used in coming up with the final list of candidates to be included in the official BPE ballots.
"Once we approve the list, those are the names that will be printed in the ballots," said Garcia. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
