The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will send a formal letter to the Bangsamoro government and Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, granting them two weeks to pass legislation addressing the seven vacant parliamentary seats originally allocated to Sulu.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating that the commission must begin technical and administrative preparations for the First Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections, scheduled for October 13, 2025.
Garcia explained that Comelec is working under a strict timeline, which includes source code development and review, ballot printing, and Automated Counting Machine (ACM) testing for the entire region.
“If no action is taken after the second week, the commission will have no choice but to proceed with the elections with only 73 parliamentary seats, as adjustments will no longer be possible due to the automated election system,” Garcia stated.
(Pagkatapos ng second week, talagang wala ng magagawa ang commission. Taling-tali na ang kamay namin na talagang hindi na namin kaya na mag-adjust pa dahil automated election tayo and therefore we will proceed with only 73 seats diyan po sa magiging halalan sa parliyamento)
Despite the missing seats, Garcia assured that Comelec is prepared to move forward with the elections, regardless of the Bangsamoro Parliament’s decision.
The Supreme Court previously ruled that Sulu should be excluded from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) after the province rejected the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in a plebiscite.
The Bangsamoro Parliament is expected to reallocate or redistribute the seven seats to other provinces within BARMM, but no final decision has been made.