THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is ruling out a postponement of the first ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), saying a single election-related incident will not derail months of preparations for the historic polls.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia, along with the Comelec en banc, attended the conference to talk about coordination and security preparations.
Secretary of Interior and Local Government Jonvic Remulla, the new Armed Forces chief, the Philippine National Police chief, the Philippine Coast Guard and senior security officials were also present.
‘We are in full control of the situation in the Bangsamoro,’ Garcia said.
He stressed that authorities remain confident in the security situation ahead of polls despite the recent attack against Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua.
Garcia said election materials for the parliamentary elections have already been deployed across the different provinces and will soon be distributed to 105 municipalities and two cities.
The poll body’s presence in Bangsamoro also comes after the successful selection of two representatives of the region’s non-Muslim indigenous peoples through an inter-tribal convention held a day earlier.
Garcia described the selection as the first of its kind in the history of BARMM, noting that the process was peaceful and settled through discussions among six indigenous tribes.
‘Successful, peaceful and acceptable to all our indigenous peoples throughout the Bangsamoro,’ Garcia said.
Garcia said authorities have so far monitored only one election-related incident in the entire region, despite its history of election-related violence.
‘First time in the history of the Bangsamoro, our checkpoints have one election-related incident,’ he said.
Comelec is also preparing for faster transmission of election results through Starlink technology, which was used during the 2025 elections.
The poll chief said the commission is targeting a fast count, with results expected to be known on election night and winning candidates proclaimed the following day.
‘On the night of the election, you will know who won,’ he said, adding that the proclamation of winners could follow on September 15.
Beyond security and logistics, Garcia urged voters to participate in the polls after several postponements of the parliamentary elections.
‘The problem now is not when the voting will be held, nor whether the voting will push through, because it will push through,’ Garcia said.
Garcia said a low voter turnout would undermine the significance of an election that follows decades of conflict and is intended to give Bangsamoro voters greater control over the region’s future.