Peace challenges of the successful First BARMM Parliamentary Elections

 

 

By Jun Enriquez

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (Sept 14, 2026) - A Press conference regarding the issues and concerns in the conduct of the First Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary elections through the Provincial Election Monitoring Action Center (PEMAC) in Lanao del Sur was held at the 103rd Haribon Brigade Kampo Ranaw Philippine Army in Marawi City.

Guests present during the said event were BGen Jessie R. Montoya, Philippine Army (PA), Commander of the 103rd Infantry Haribon Brigade, PA. BGen Montoya said that their main responsibility is to protect the civilians in the province during the casting of votes in polling precincts in every municipality.

 

(Left to right) BGen Jessie R. Montoya, PA, Brigade Commander, 103rd Brigade PA; Atty. Mohammad Nabil Mutia, Provincial Election Supervisor, COMELEC Lanao del Sur; PCol Caesar P. Cabuhat, PNP Provincial Director., Lanao del Sur

 

The main Guest of the event was Atty. Mohammad Nabil Mutia, Provincial Election Supervisor of the Commission on Election (COMELEC) through the PEMAC in the province of Lanao del Sur. He said Lanao del Sur is the most peaceful province during the conduct of 1st BARMM Parliamentary Elections because there was no untoward incidence happened. 

 

Atty. Mutia said, there were about 79 teachers did not show up to serve as Election board of canvassers in polling precincts but were being replaced by 79 PNP Electoral boards during the day of the election assigned in the vacated polling precincts as it was confirmed by PCol Caesar P. Cabuhat, Provincial Director of PNP Lanao del Sur. The voting time of the elections started at around 5:00 A.M and ended at 7:00 P.M.. Voting machines in trouble which will not functioning has been replaced immediately because there are few spares voting machines readily available. Atty. Mutia said that the voting machines are using starlink internet signal to process voting results. 

Mutia said, the voting results will be processed through the Consolidating Cavass System (CCS) and will be transferred and submitted in just 3 minutes from voting precincts in the municipalities to the Provincial COMELEC Board. The winning candidates in the province, especially the winning Districting candidates will be proclaimed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers.

In addition, all results of the CCS from the Provincial Board will be submitted to the Regional Board of canvassers for consolidation of the results, especially the voting results casted of the Regional parties and sectoral candidates will depend on the computation results of the Provincial Board of canvassers.

Other guests attended the said event were coming from the Philippine National Police (PNP), PCol Caesar P. Cabuhat, Provincial Director, PNP Lanao del Sur, and PBGen Jemuel F. Siason, Deputy Regional Director for Administration, PNP BARMM. 

PBGen Jemuel F. Siason, Deputy Regional Director for  Administration, PNP BARMM

PBGen Siason said that Cotabato is under COMELEC control, including the municipality of Maluso, Basilan. He said, the PNP BARMM provides maximum security in the region under the supervision of the COMELEC to maintain peace and order, to secure the BARMM Parliamentary Elections under the COMELEC supervision to provide security together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the PNP. In related development about the issues and concerns of the election is to share information updating the situation of the conduct of the First BARMM Parliamentary elections held September 14, 2026, and another issues was about the peace and security situation in the region.

Atty Mutia said that the conduct of Parliamentary elections in BARMM, especially in Lanao del Sur during the day was very peaceful without untoward incidence and violence.

There are about 2.39 million voters to cast their votes in the first BARMM Parliamentary election. Generally, as information gathered, there are a total of 80 seats to be elected in the BARMM Parliament, 40 seats are coming from the Regional Party, 32 seats are coming from District representatives , and Eight (8) seats are coming from sectoral representatives. 

 

The Partial results of the elections Regional parties, with which the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) garnered 16 seats, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) garnered 15 seats, the BARMM Grand Coalition (BGC) garnered Eight (8) seats and One (1) seat coming from BPDP/RAAYAT Party. 

In the BARMM districting election partial results with 10 seats coming from UBJP, 13 seats from BFP, Six (6) seats from BGC, One (1) seat from PRO Bangsamoro Party, One (1) seat from ITIHAD Party, and One (1) seat coming from Independent.

Election results from sectoral representatives garnered Six (6) seats from UBJP representing the settlers community, Women, Youth, Ulama and Traditional leader, and Two (2) seats from the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) sector. All the results of the elections still on partial situation. Final election results will be declared by the Regional Commission in the next few days. 

 

During the day of the election, there was a shootout happened in Cotabato City with three (3) dead and 15 wounded due to rivalry of political supporters of UBJP and BFP in Datu Usman Mampen school site in Barangay Bagua 2, Cotabato City. The commotion happened outside the school on the eve of the elections.

 

Another one (1) person died and three (3) others wounded after violence erupted at the pilot Central Elementary School in Cotabato City. COMELEC Chairman Atty. George Erwin Garcia is hoping for about 65%-70% voters turnout in BARMM polls.  

 

In recent development, the Commission shared information regarding the tension in the municipality of Al-Barka, Basilan due to the incident involving the MILF and other partisan groups, while in the municipality of Maluso, Basilan considered that their was a poll fraud of having pre-shaded ballots composed of 36 ballot boxes invalidated, the main reason to reprint another ballots in the National printing office in Quezon City and brought on its way to Basilan at around 3:00 P.M. on the same day. 

 

COMELEC Chairman Garcia, decided to move the ending of the voting time in the aforementioned place of Basilan for two (2) hours from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on the same day of the election. A total of 16,563 official ballots of the 36 polling precincts were pre-shaded prompting the commission to reprint new ballots again for a votation.

 

In another recent development, COMELEC Chairman Garcia, released a statement with regards to the BARMM Parliamentary Elections (BPE) recorded the highest voters turnout at 84.34 percent represents a total of 2,018,478 voters cast their votes who participated in the BPE elections with a total registered voters at 2,393,202. (Presscon; Press release; Written and Edited by Jun Enriquez, Digital-Mobile Journalist)