THE SUPREME COURT (SC) on Wednesday struck down two Bangsamoro parliamentary redistricting laws, effectively canceling the Oct. 13 elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
In a decision dated Sept. 30, SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae L. Ting announced that the Court en banc granted two consolidated petitions.
The tribunal voted 11-3-1 to declare Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) No. 77, the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Redistricting Act of 2025, unconstitutional for violating Section 5 of the Voter’s Registration Act, which bars altering precincts after the election period has begun.
The law, passed on Aug. 19 and signed into law on Aug. 28, was enacted days after the Aug. 14 start of the election period.
The Court likewise struck down BAA No. 58, the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Districts Act of 2024, saying it cannot be revived since it was based on an outdated framework that still included Sulu as part of BARMM.
“There can be no BARMM parliamentary elections on Oct. 13, 2025 because of the lack of a valid districting law,” the Court said.
Instead, it ordered the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to determine new parliamentary districts by Oct. 30 in line with the Bangsamoro Organic Law and the Constitution.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) was then directed to hold elections no later than March 31, 2026.
“It is very clear that we have no law to enforce. It’s back to zero for Comelec,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia told reporters in a Viber message.
“In the meantime, the ball is in the hands of the Bangsamoro Parliament, and we shall be waiting for their action and compliance,” he added.
The ruling also noted logistical hurdles raised by Comelec, including the incomplete poll worker training, need for sectoral assemblies, and installation of Starlink connectivity across BARMM.
With less than a month before the scheduled vote, the poll body said enforcing BAA No. 77 “would cause massive confusion among the more than 2.25 million registered voters.” — Erika Mae P. Sinaking