Military assures security during the three-day COMELEC special registration for MILF members

Lt. Col. Bernardo A. Taqueban CAV (GSC) PA, Battalion Commander, 4th Mechanized Infatry Battalion, Philippine Army.

Balo-i, Lanao del Norte - There were 3 consecutive days for special Commission on Election (COMELEC) registration for the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), from September 11-13, 2018. There were three clusters of Comelec registration, the Balo-I cluster, Munai cluster and Nunungan cluster with an average of seven municipalities per cluster area.

The Balo-i cluster Comelec registration was held at Barangay Multi-purpose Hall in Mumongan, Pacalundo. The purpose of the special registration is to allow the MILF members to vote for the coming plebiscite on January 21, 2019 in favor “Yes” to the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to be included in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

There were six municipalities in Lanao del Norte and 39 Barangays in six municipalities in North Cotabato are included in the Bangsamoro core territory and these provinces will vote en masse or at large during the plebiscite to determine the inclusion of those local government units in the Bangsamoro.

In an interview with Mr. Rabin M. Arumpac, Election Officer of Matungao, Lanao del Norte recounted that requirements for MILF members to register is the certification from the MILF central committee leadership. The Comelec registration was also become open to non-MILF members who are regular voters. There were 73 new registered voters on the first day of registration on September 11. On the second day, September 12, there were 216 newly registered voters. On the third day, September 13, it is expected to register to less than 1,000 new registered voters of MILF members based on the trends of the first two days. MILF local leaders in balo-i will request for another one day registration because some of the MILF members were not able to come in the three-day registration.

MILF members in COMELEC registration.

Arumpac said that the Balo-i cluster of registration is composed of nine municipalities such as Balo-i, Tagoloan, Matungao, Pantar, Pantao Ragat, Poona Piagapo, Bacolod, Linamon and Maigo.

Arumpac added that the Election Registration Board (ERB) will hold hearing to validate the new registered voters in every municipality starting October 15, 2018 good for 5 days to scrutinize the records of the registered voters in terms of residency and others.   

It was estimated that 40% of the newly registered voters belongs to the municipality of Tagoloan, Lanao del Norte. It was observed that no new registered voters coming from the coastal municipalities within the cluster.

At left, Election Officer Rabin M. Arumpac.

Lt. Col. Bernardo A. Taqueban, Commander of the 4^th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army based in Nangka, Balo-i, Lanao del Norte, said that prior to the scheduled Comelec registration, they already cleared and secured the Balo-i and Munai areas under their area of responsibility to be peacefully hold the special Comelec registration. Taqueban said that the MILF members should be given the opportunity to exercise their rights to vote on the coming plebiscite on January 2019 for peace and development in their respective areas of concern. He said the government peace mechanism headed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) is actively on track. Taqueban said that MILF Commander “Bravo” was able to register in Munai Comelec cluster area. (News reports by Jun Enriquez; Photos by Salve Gimena).