Federalist Party Leads BARMM Parliamentary Polls Amid Violence Reports

COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) ranked first in the outcome of the Sept. 14 elections for bloc representation in the 80-seat parliament in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Each of the more than 10 parties that participated in the elections anointed a bloc for the parliament and separate individual candidates for each of the 32 districts in BARMM. BARMM’s chief minister and Bangsamoro Federalist Party president, Abdulraof A. Macacua, was elected as representative of a district covering parts of Cotabato City and several barangays in nearby towns in Maguindanao del Norte. Initial tallies by Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials in BARMM indicated that the Bangsamoro Federalist Party topped in the ranking for bloc representation in the parliament, followed by the United Bangsamoro Justice Party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the BARMM Government Coalition, or the BGC. Local executives in BARMM’s five provinces and three cities told reporters on Tuesday that provincial governors leading the BGC and its representatives to the parliament are expected to play a key role in the election. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri called on the Comelec to conduct an investigation on election-related violence in the region amid reports of election fraud, killings, shootings, and explosions. Mr. Zubiri, who authored the Bangsamoro Organic Law, said the election should have been a celebration of BARMM’s democracy and self-determination, noting that years of dialogue and negotiations had taken place to finally conduct the polls. “I am deeply troubled by the reports of killings, shootings, explosions, damage to public and private property, ballot tampering, intimidation and vote-buying during this historic election. It will be another black-eye for the country in the international community,” he said in a press statement on Tuesday. He also called on the Bangsamoro government and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to address election-related violence and ensure accountability for those responsible for the chaos. The Palace considered the parliamentary elections “generally peaceful and orderly,” citing the PNP’s assessment, with a voter turnout of 82.41%, 4.79 percentage points higher than the 77.62% turnout in the May 2025 national and local polls. Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro, however, said that “even if we say that yesterday’s election was generally peaceful and orderly, as long as even one person was injured, no one, especially the President, will feel good about it.” Ms. Castro told a news briefing that the Palace is continuously coordinating with the Comelec. Three casualties have been reported by the Cotabato Police while 15 individuals sustained injuries during the election day, hours ahead of the polls’ opening. On Monday, Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia said Cotabato City has been placed under the commission’s control due to gunfire and explosion incidents starting on Sunday evening. — John Felix M. Unson and Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel