Datu Odin Sinsuat to be placed under Comelec control

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday that it will place Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Sur, under its control following a fatal attack on an election officer last week.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia made the remark after the poll body en banc rejected the recommendation to put the entire province under its control.

"We will no longer put the whole province under Comelec control," Garcia told reporters in Filipino.

"We are focused on Datu Sinsuat," Garcia added, noting that the en banc is finalizing the guidance defining the implications of an area under Comelec control.

He added that the order will be effective immediately once the resolution has been released.

"We do not want to scare anyone, but we want to specify the limitation of Comelec control in the region," Garcia explained.

Comelec official Bai Maceda Lidasan Abo and her husband, Datu Jojo Abo, were ambushed on 26 March in Barangay Makir, Datu Odin Sinsuat. She and her husband died on the spot.

The couple was on their way to Bai's office in Dalican onboard a sports utility vehicle when unidentified gunmen ambushed them.

Garcia said there are four persons of interest in the killing of the couple.

"If there is any evidence linking the four individuals, the case will be filed immediately," he added.