The Commission on Elections, sitting as the National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers, cleared the certificate of canvass of Cotabato City showing 36,682 “Yes” votes and 24,994 “No” votes for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic law.
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The Comelec later also cleared the COC of Isabela City, Basilan, indicating the residents’ “No” vote on its inclusion in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
The Comelec also said more than 85 percent of the 2.1-million registered voters participated for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the voters’ turnout showed that democracy continued to exist in the southern part of the country, adding 1,844,873 out of the 2,167,244 registered voters cast their votes, or 85.13 percent of all the voters.
Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas said the conduct of the election was a sign of a vibrant democracy in the country.
“It’s a testimony of the strong institutions and the maturity of the citizens. The sovereign will is expressed through their ballot and not through the bullet,” Abas said.
The Comelec cleared the Isabela City COC despite questions over the plebiscite returns that had erasures and alleged tampering.
The NPBOC earlier declared that the discrepancy in the entry of the number of registered voters who cast their votes between Cotabato City’s certificate of canvass and summary of votes was a “formal error,” meaning the error was in filling out the form and as such would not affect the BOL plebiscite results.
Lawyer Consuelo Diola of the Comelec Secretariat said that, based on the findings of the Audit and Tabulation panel, the discrepancy was brought about by the Plebiscite Committee’s failure to enter the number of registered voters who actually voted during Day 1 of the BOL plebiscite on the SOV, thus resulting in an erroneous entry of the total number of registered voters who actually voted in Cotabato City’s COC.
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The correct number of the registered voters in Cotabato City that cast their votes was 61,676.
The national board of canvassers cleared the Isabela City Certificate of Canvass, which showed the “No” votes winning over the “Yes” votes at 22,441 as against 19,032.
This was even after counsel Raisa Jajuri of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission claimed that about 80 Plebiscite Returns were canvassed or counted by the City Board of Canvassers even if these Plebiscite Returns had erasures and had been tampered with.
The Bangsamoro Transition Commission helped Congress draft the BOL, a measure that replaces the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region with an expanded land and water jurisdiction, fiscal autonomy, and a higher share in the national government’s resources, among other things.
Upon questioning by Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, Jajuri said she was alleging fraud based on the Plebiscite Returns, not on the Certificate of Canvass.
Guanzon told Jajuri that the questions on the content of the Certificate of Canvass were not a basis to stop the canvassing of votes since the board of canvassers’ authority was limited to determining the authenticity of the Certificate of Canvass.
“It is not a ground to stop the proceedings. This is about determining the due execution and authenticity of the Certificate of Canvass,” Guanzon said.
Abas echoed Guanzon’s reminder, paving the way for the clearance of the Isabela City Certificate of Canvass.