Retabulation of votes in Cotabato ordered

MANILA, Philippines — There were 39,027 votes cast. But 36,682 “yes” votes were recorded and 24,994 “no” votes, for a total of 61,676.

Because of the discrepancy, the National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers (NPBOC) yesterday ordered the retabulation of votes from Cotabato City in the plebiscite for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

The seven members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reconvened as the NPBOC to canvass the results of the BOL plebiscite.

“The certificate of canvass will be referred to the tabulation committee to undergo reaudit to ensure correction,” Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas announced.

As the certificate of canvass (COC) was presented to the NPBOC, Commissioner Luie Tito Guia took notice of the discrepancies in the figures.

Guia noted the total number of votes written on the COC indicated only 39,027.

“(But) based on the COC, ‘yes’ obtained a total of 36,682 while ‘no’ got 24,994, the total of which is more than the recorded 39,027,” Guia said.

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon also questioned the discrepancy between the total number of votes indicated on the COC and the statement of votes.

The total number of votes written on the statement of votes was 22,507 as compared to 24,994 on the COC.

Acting Cotabato City election officer Rommel Rama was called by the board to explain the discrepancies.

According to Rama, the Plebiscite Committee (Plebcom) failed to enter on record the total number of registered voters and the number of voters who actually voted.

Rama said the Plebcom committed an error and the City Board of Canvassers merely adapted the committee’s figures.

To resolve the discrepancy, the NPBOC turned over the COC and other documents to the Tabulation Committee for a “recheck.”

“Tabulators will have to verify (the figures) and the Commission will decide,” Guanzon said.

Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi had pushed for a repeat of the plebiscite, claiming fraud, intimidation of voters and other anomalies.

Sayadi said they will protest the outcome of the plebiscite before the Comelec. She claimed she had recorded cases of harassment of anti-BOL voters and several attempts of flying voters participating in the exercise in certain polling precincts.

“We have enough evidence to prove that. We will initiate appropriate actions. I challenge the Comelec to conduct another plebiscite on Feb. 6 to enable voters here to exercise their right of suffrage safely and freely,” Sayadi said.

The Comelec will administer the second plebiscite on Feb. 6 in several towns in Lanao del Norte in Region 10 and in North Cotabato in Region 12 to determine if the residents there are in favor of grouping their communities together under the expanded Bangsamoro region.

Cotabato City is where the main office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is located.

Voter turnout

The Comelec reported a high 85.13 percent turnout of voters in the recently held plebiscite for the ratification of the BOL.

It said a total of 1,844,873 or 85.13 percent of the over 2.1 million registered voters from the ARRM and other core areas participated and cast their votes.

Based on the Comelec data, Maguindanao posted the highest voter turnout of 93.35 percent followed by Lanao del Sur with 92.56 percent and Basilan with 81.98 percent.

Cotobato  City recorded a total of 61,676  voters or a 54.22 percent turnout. The COC from the city is undergoing audit due to discrepancies in the actual number of voters who actually voted as compared to the recorded number of votes cast.

Duterte satisfied

After ordering the retabulation of results from Cotabato City, the NPBOC yesterday suspended the canvassing with no other COC to canvass. The board will reconvene and resume canvassing at 2 p.m. today.

A few minutes after the suspension, however, the COCs from Isabela City and Basilan province arrived at the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila.

Initial results showed the votes favoring BOL’s ratification had dominated the plebiscite in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Basilan.

Apart from the results in Cotabato City, which was put into question, the Sulu province rejected BOL with 163,526 “no” votes as against 137,630 for “yes.”

Isabela City in Basilan also rejected inclusion in the Bangsamoro region with 22,441 no votes against 19,032 in favor.

Despite the negative votes, President Duterte said he was pleased with the results.

“Yes, I am very happy, we are a step nearer to a peaceful Mindanao but then we have to refocus again on the Western side (of Mindanao) because Misuari must also have something there,” Duterte said during an interview in Pasay City on Wednesday.

Duterte was referring Nur Misuari, the founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) who is against the BOL.

He said he will now focus on the concerns of Misuari.

The MNLF leader is against the possible inclusion of their turf and territories to the expanded Bangsamoro region led by their rival MILF.

Duterte noted Sulu voted against their inclusion in the Bangsamoro region. 

“So, that’s something I have to take into account, otherwise, it showed their sentiment against it … especially among Moro people,” Duterte said.

“Now, I have to shift my attention or focus to Misuari. It’s because the MNLF are in the regions of Sulu, Jolo, Zamboanga. They were there in the first place,” he added. – with  John Unson, Christina Mendez