DAVAO CITY (September 14) — More than 2.39 million voters are casting ballots today in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s first parliamentary elections, putting the region’s experiment in self-government to its biggest democratic test yet.
Eighty parliamentary seats are at stake as the Bangsamoro moves from a transition arrangement toward an elected parliament.
Forty seats will be filled through Regional Parliamentary Political Party (RPPP) representation, while the remaining 40 will come from 32 parliamentary districts and eight sectoral representatives.
The 2,393,202 registered voters are choosing one district representative, one parliamentary political party and six parliamentary sectoral organizations representing settler communities, women, youth, ulama and traditional leaders.
For the Commission on Elections (Comelec), however, today’s vote is about more than filling seats.
Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said the election carries forward generations of Bangsamoro demands for homeland, identity and self-determination that eventually found a political route through the peace process.
“These elections stand on generations of Bangsamoro struggle for homeland, identity and self-determination, in the face of dispossession, marginalization, conflict, and sacrifice,” Garcia said in a statement Sunday.
He said institutions created through negotiation and transition are now being placed in the hands of representatives who must secure a mandate directly from voters.
“The election before us carries that history forward,” Garcia said.
A test beyond the ballot
Voting is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with senior citizens, pregnant voters and persons with disabilities allowed to vote as early as 5 a.m.
Those unable to vote during the early period may still cast their ballots during regular voting hours.
The elections are using automated counting machines previously deployed during the May 2025 midterm elections.
Garcia urged candidates, political parties and voters to protect the credibility of the process, calling for restraint and respect for the vote.
For a region emerging from decades of armed conflict and political transition, the challenge is not simply getting voters to the polls.
It is ensuring that they can vote freely, safely and without coercion.
4,000 PPCRV volunteers deployed
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is deploying about 4,000 volunteers across BARMM, including around 1,000 who will take part in its unofficial parallel count.
PPCRV national communications director Ana Singson said the group is also participating in the Random Manual Audit (RMA) in Davao and operating command centers in BARMM and at the PPCRV-AMA Command Center in Makati City.
The unofficial parallel count is scheduled from Sept. 17 to 22.
The parallel count and audit are expected to provide additional checks on the official election results as the region awaits the formal canvass.
Vote-buying allegation surfaces
As voters head to the polls, an election offense controversy is also putting electoral integrity under scrutiny.
The Comelec-Committee on Kontra Bigay has ordered former Comelec chairperson and parliamentary district candidate Sheriff Abas of Cotabato City’s First District to explain a social media post allegedly showing vote-buying.
The Sept. 12 show-cause order gave Abas 24 hours from receipt to explain why an election offense complaint and/or petition for disqualification should not be filed against him.
The case stemmed from a Facebook post alleging advance vote-buying that showed a sample ballot bearing Abas’ name alongside three PHP1,000 bills.
The allegation remains subject to Abas’ response and the Comelec’s proceedings.
The controversy highlights one of the central challenges facing today’s polls: whether voters can exercise their first parliamentary mandate without intimidation, inducement or other forms of electoral pressure.
A new political test for Bangsamoro
The election will determine who takes the 80 parliamentary seats and, more importantly, how the Bangsamoro’s new political institutions will govern the region.
For 2.39 million voters, the future of Bangsamoro self-government is now on the ballot.
