Do not be cowed by bombs, Manila urges plebiscite voters

Manila: The presidential palace says Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato residents will come out for the last leg of the Bangsamoro plebiscite despite incidents of bombings last Tuesday on the eve of the vote.

A statement issued by Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo on Wednesday said, three blasts in Lanao del Norte on the eve of the second plebiscite for the ratification of the (Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) will not frighten voters from exercising their right to opt for inclusion into the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“The explosions on the eve of the BOL plebiscite stem from acts of cowardice on the part of those who resist change and want to perpetuate the climate of fear, hopelessness and poverty among the Bangsamoro people and the Christian inhabitants in Mindanao,” Panelo said.

Residents have trooped to the voting precincts in Lanao del Norte (except Iligan City) in the Central Mindanao region and the North Cotabato municipalities of Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pikit, Pigkawayan and Tulunan on Wednesday to take part in the second tranche of the plebiscite.

The first part was implemented last January 21 in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, as well as the cities of Cotabato and Isabela.

Days after that vote in Western Mindanao, a powerful explosion took place inside the Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu on January 27 killing 22 people and injuring nearly a hundred.

In the plebiscite, Muslim-majority areas in Central and Western Mindanao were given the option on whether they want to be included in the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Panelo said the police remains “on top of the situation” despite the attacks on the eve of the vote on Tuesday.

According to National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde, three explosions took place in Lanao del Norte on Tuesday. Blasts occurred in the village of Maranding in the municipality of Lala while another explosion took place the same day in Sultan Naga Dimaporo. A third blast took place at the Mindanao State University Municipal High School also the Dimaporo town.

No one was reported hurt in the incident, but it caused apprehension among residents and prompted the national police to deploy additional security personnel.

More than 7,300 policemen and government soldiers are securing the vote in Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato.

Earlier Lanao del Norte Second Congressional District Representative, Abdullah Dimaporo, had openly campaigned against the conduct of the plebiscite in his province.

Panelo said the government expected the conduct of the vote as not an easy one as some of the areas in Lanao del Norte were resisting the conduct of the vote.

“The road to lasting peace in that region is not without obstacles strewn by those who foment disunity and who purvey the status quo. We shall not be waylaid by the twin forces of obstruction and destruction,” Panelo said.

He added: “Even as we find yesterday’s explosion as deplorable, we continue to have faith in our vibrant democracy ... No amount of bombing or terroristic act will scare, intimidate nor threaten the voters from participating in today’s plebiscite.”

The BARMM is expected to replace the current Autonomous Region in Mindanao (ARMM), a set up that was unable to address the issue of self-governance and economic justice in the Bangsamoro, an area that had been mired in conflict and poverty for decades.