More than 100 aspirants have filed their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) for Regional Parliamentary District Representatives in the upcoming September 2026 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE). According to data released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), a total of 108 COCs were submitted during the three-day filing period from May 5 to 7, 2026.
Distribution of COCs Across Districts
The filings were distributed across various districts: 17 for Basilan, 33 for Lanao del Sur, 11 for Maguindanao del Norte, 16 for Maguindanao del Sur, 13 for Tawi-Tawi, seven for the Special Geographic Area, and 11 for Cotabato City. These submissions are for the 32 parliamentary district seats up for election in the BPE.
Seat Allocation
The seats are allocated as follows: four for Basilan, nine for Lanao del Sur, five for Maguindanao del Norte, five for Maguindanao del Sur, four for Tawi-Tawi, two for the Special Geographic Area, and three for Cotabato City.
Next Steps
On Friday, May 8, 2026, the COCs filed in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are expected to be transported to the Comelec's head office in Intramuros, Manila. In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia stated that the commission en banc will evaluate and approve the COCs next week. “After seeing all the COCs and knowing if the declarations there are really correct, we can already approve the list,” Garcia said. He added that the approved list will be used to create the final list of candidates for the official BPE ballots. “Once we approve the list, those are the names that will be printed in the ballots,” he explained.
Police personnel were deployed at the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City during the filing period to ensure security and order.
