The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to use only one official ballot for the September 2026 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE), reversing its earlier plan to provide two ballots. In a recent interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia confirmed that voters will receive a single ballot containing candidates for Regional Parliamentary District Representatives, Regional Parliamentary Political Parties (RPPPs), and Parliamentary Sectoral Organizations (PSOs).
Single Ballot Decision
“We shall only have one ballot now. We no longer plan on having two ballots,” Garcia stated. This decision comes after 108 certificates of candidacy were filed for district representatives. Additionally, the Comelec accredited only 16 parties as RPPPs and 23 organizations as PSOs. Earlier, the poll body had considered two ballots due to the anticipated high number of participants, with one ballot for district and party candidates and another for sectoral organizations printed back-to-back.
Inclusion of Photos and Logos
Despite calls from some stakeholders to exclude candidate photos and party logos, Garcia emphasized that Comelec will proceed with printing them on the ballots. “Some members of the parliament said that the pictures should not be included because they said it is not mandatory anyways,” Garcia said in an interview on May 8, 2026. “What the Comelec did is we insisted that the pictures of the candidates should be included, we insisted that the logos of the parties should be printed.”
The poll chief highlighted the importance of visual identification for voters. “It's only right that our people will vote not just because of the name, but because they saw who it was exactly they wanted,” Garcia explained. “It's better that they can see who are those who actually faced them, who shook their hands with them.” Under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code, the inclusion of photos and logos is required “as far as practicable.”
The single ballot aims to streamline the voting process while ensuring voters can make informed choices. The Comelec continues preparations for the September 2026 elections, focusing on efficient ballot printing and distribution across the Bangsamoro region.
