The central committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chaired by Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim called for the conduct of the parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as scheduled on October 13, 2025.
Both Ebrahim and MILF peace implementing panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal made the call following reports that some groups were lobbying for further postponement of the BARMM elections until 2026.
Iqbal, vice president for Central Mindanao of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), political wing of the MILF, appealed to the national government to push through with the elections, saying it is an opportunity to strengthen governance and democratic institutions in the country.
“We call on the Philippine Government, both Houses of Congress, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and all concerned stakeholders to respect and follow the schedule and timeline set by law for the upcoming first parliamentary election on October 13, 2025. We strongly appeal to our national leaders to refrain from entertaining any proposal that will again postpone this historic election to choose the regular Members of the Bangsamoro Parliament,” Iqbal said.
“At this point in time, while there is no pending bill filed in Congress yet seeking for another postponement of the October 13, 2025, the MILF is very much concerned over reports reaching us that there is again another move to postpone the parliamentary election to 2028,” he added.
He underscored the importance of the MILF duly recognizing the imperative of democratically electing the parliament members in order to enable the BARMM to transition into a fully functioning and empowered autonomous government whose leaders are democratically elected with legal mandate from the Bangsamoro electorates.”
It may be recalled that the 80 MPs were first appointed for a three-year term by the then-President Rodrigo Duterte in January 2019 and by incumbent President Marcos in 2022 for another three years.
This meant that many of the appointive MPs have already been serving for more than six years and it’s time the regular MPs receive their mandate through the October 13 polls.
He further noted the first parliamentary election was for May 2022 but reset to May 2025 by Duterte and by Marcos, Jr. for the second time to October 13, for five months. Now, as Iqbal exposed, an attempt is being for a third postponement. And the MILF, of all groups, is against the deferment
“We reiterate our appeal to the Senate and the House of Representatives to assure the Bangsamoro people that the first parliamentary election will push through as scheduled and that there be no further delay, or postponement,” Iqbal’s statement read.
He described this as democracy’s essence, pointing out that the MILF is ready to seek legal mandate through the Bangsamoro people’s “sovereign will in a clean, fair, honest and credible election.”
He said that through the UBJP, the MILF “is ready to submit to this democratic electoral exercise, and are willing to accept its outcome, even if we lose or win.”
