COTABATO CITY (JANUARY 24)— The yes votes for the realization of the Bangasamoro Autonomous Regiona in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) win in Cotabato City and Basilan, the partial result as announced by the Commission on Elections showed.
The Comelec Official Canvassing of Results for Cotabato City ended at 8:45 Tuesday night with all the election returns from the 374 clustered voting precincts canvassed
With the result, Cotabato City will soon become the capital of the new political entity as a result of the government’s peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
After rejecting inclusion to the autonomous region twice in 1989 and 2001, Cotabato City voted in favor of inclusion to the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) becoming a reality through the enabling law, Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
But in Isabela City, Basilan, the voters reject the proposed system of government , as they voted no.
The plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) was conducted January 21 in the areas of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Isabela City in Basilan and Cotabato City.
Abraham Peno, Sub-Regional Coordinator for Maguindanao Sub-region of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) revealed:
In Cotabato City: , yes garnered 36, 682 votes for ‘yes’ while no got 24,994 votes for ‘no’. The total votes cast is 61676 or 54.22 percent voters’ turn out.
Cotabato City has a total of 113751 registered voters, 374 clustered precincts, 33 voting centers, 749 established precincts and 37 barangays.
Partial unofficial result also showed the following results:
- Lanao Sur: YES– 503,626; NO– 9,816
- Maguindanao: YES– 433,273; NO– 15,990
- -Basilan: YES– 123,694; NO– 5,342
- Sulu: YES –136,007; NO– 151,935
- Tawitawi: YES– 143,443; NO–9,419
- ARMM Total: YES –1,340,043; NO– 192,502
- Isabela City: Yes 19,114; NO 22,375
The results show, the Province of Basilan (Excluding Isabela City) Final Results Total Registered Voter: 190,861 Actually Voted : 156,468 Voters Turn Out: 81.98% .
The victorious pro-BOL chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) as they roamed around Cotabato city.
Lawyer Ray Sumalipao, Commission on Elections regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said the poll body will official announced the official plebiscite results in Manila in the coming days.
Another plebiscite is scheduled on February 6 in six towns in Lanao del Norte, and in 67 villages in North Cotabato (39 original villages listed in BOL and 28 other villages that petitioned for inclusion and approved by the poll body)-Edwin O. Fernandez and Taher Solaiman/NewsLine.ph
