Comelec all set for Marawi plebiscites

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is ready to conduct plebiscites to ratify the creation of two barangays in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur tomorrow.

“We are all set. We are 100 percent ready,” Comelec spokesman Rex Laudiangco said when asked about the  preparations for the plebiscites.

The plebiscites will ratify the creation of Barangay Boganga II from Barangay Boganga and Barangay Datu Daligdigan from Barangay Sagonsongan as provided under city ordinances.

Voting is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Laudiangco said it would be the first political exercise in Marawi since the siege in 2017.

More than 400,000 residents were reportedly displaced while 1,000 terrorists and 160 soldiers died in the siege, which left the city in ruins.

Laudiangco said the creation of additional barangays is due to the increase in population as residents displaced by the siege relocated.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia and Commissioners Socorro Inting, Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda and Aimee Ferolino will fly to Marawi to monitor the plebiscites.

Ferolino is the commissioner-in-charge for the plebiscites.

Garcia urged registered voters in concerned barangays to go out and vote even as he allayed fears over security issues.

“There is nothing to be afraid of. Neither guns nor goons can weaken our resolve. Our voices are more resounding than the barrel of a gun. Show the world that we control our destiny. Go out and vote,” he said.

Comelec records showed that there are 992 registered voters in Barangays Boganga and 480 in Sagonsongan.

The Comelec said Barangay Boganga has a population of 6,320 while Sagonsongan has 7,137.