THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is considering extending its direct supervision over
two towns in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) despite the conclusion of the May 12 national and local polls.
Elections chairman George Garcia said they are looking to extend the imposition of Comelec control in Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte and Buluan in Maguindanao del Sur in relation to the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) scheduled on October.
“We are now assessing if we will continue (with the Comelec control) in the towns of Datu Odin Sinsuat and Buluan considering that the Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) is an extension of the national and local elections (NLE),” Garcia said.
For now, he said the towns of Datu Odin Sinsuat and Buluan will remain under Comelec control until June 11, which is the end of the election period for the May 12 midterm polls.
Datu Odin Sinsuat and Buluan towns were placed under the direct supervision of the Comelec prior to last month’s elections due to the emergence of election-related violence.
Garcia said the poll body is expecting that election-related violence will continue in the two towns as the BPE approaches because of the presence of weapons and private armed groups, which he said pose a perennial threat to peaceful and orderly polls.
He also said the “rido,” or clan wars, could have been exacerbated by the results of the recent midterm elections.
The Bangsamoro region is set to hold its first-ever parliamentary polls on October 13.
