INQUIRER GRAPHICS
COTABATO CITY — Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua has declared Tuesday, Sept. 15, a regional special non-working holiday across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), giving residents and government offices a day off following Monday’s historic parliamentary vote.
The order is contained in Proclamation No. 007, Series of 2026, signed on Sept. 10 at the Office of the Chief Minister in Cotabato City.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signed Proclamation No. 1395, setting Monday, Sept. 14 — election day — as a special non-working day in BARMM.
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Monday’s vote is the first time Bangsamoro residents will elect members of their own parliament, capping a transition that began after the 2019 Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act No. 11054) and was extended several times. The date was reset to the second Monday of September 2026 under Republic Act No. 12317.
About 2.393 million voters are registered for the elections, according to Commission on Elections data.
They will cast ballots through 5,212 clustered precincts in 1,186 voting centers across the region, choosing an 80-seat parliament: 40 party-list or regional party representatives, 32 district representatives, and eight sectoral seats.
Macacua’s proclamation cites the scale of movement expected on election day — travel to and from distant provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays — and the risk that forcing offices and businesses to reopen immediately on Tuesday would complicate safe return travel and an orderly restart of government and commercial work.
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Under Section 1, Sept. 15 is a regional special (non-working) holiday throughout BARMM.
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Section 2 says the holiday applies to the private sector and to all branches, ministries, offices, and agencies of the Bangsamoro Government, including constituent provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays. Bangsamoro Government offices located outside BARMM are also covered.
National government offices inside BARMM remain under national holiday rules unless a competent national authority says otherwise.
Regular work, classes, and business operations covered by the proclamation resume on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Wages and other labor standards for private-sector workers will follow the Labor Code of the Philippines, related regulations, and Section 12 of Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 39, the Bangsamoro Holidays Act of 2023. That law is also the local legal basis for the Chief Minister to proclaim special holidays.
Under Republic Act No. 12317, officials elected Monday will serve from noon of Oct. 30, 2026, to June 30, 2031, after which future BARMM elections will be synchronized with national and local polls, held every second Monday of May starting 2031.
The proclamation takes effect upon issuance and publication. It was released by the Office of the Chief Minister’s AMS-Records Division. /dp
