Garcia: BARMM polls 'generally peaceful'

The conduct of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections on Monday, 14 September, has been generally peaceful, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia said.

“Sa kasalukuyan, generally peaceful naman ang ating halalan,” Garcia told reporters at a press briefing.

The Comelec chief made the statement despite a number of incidents in Cotabato City on Sunday night, 13 September, that left four people dead and 16 others injured.

“Nalulungkot kami. Kinokondena namin ang ganyang klase na mga insidente,” Garcia said.

Late Sunday evening, Garcia said an altercation over the voting queue took place at Central Pilot Elementary School, resulting in the deaths of four people who were shot, including an individual who died on Monday.

The incident also left 15 other people injured.

Apart from the incident at the school, Garcia said a man attempted to throw an improvised explosive device (IED) at government security forces on Sunday night.

The man was injured and hospitalized after the IED exploded before he could hurl it.

The Comelec chairman also noted that several polling precincts in BARMM did not open on time.

Among them were polling precincts in Al-Bakar, Basilan, which opened at 10:30 a.m. due to heated confrontations involving the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and armed partisans.

Garcia said the Comelec had approved the extension of voting hours in Al-Bakar from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday.

Meanwhile, Garcia said the Comelec discovered pre-shaded ballots that were supposed to be distributed to 36 of the 68 precincts in Maluso, Basilan.

“’Yun pong 36 na presinto, ang botanteng involved po diyan ay 16,563,” he said.

Garcia said the Comelec had approved the reprinting of ballots for the 36 polling precincts in Maluso.