The two successive bombings in Sulu and Zamboanga City will not affect the voter turnout in the next plebiscite on Wednesday, Malacañang said Friday.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the remarks after the Commission on Elections surmised that the recent fatal bombings in Mindanao might affect the voting public in the second Bangsamoro plebiscite.
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Asked if the Palace was confident the terrorist attacks would not affect the voters, Panelo said: “Yes, definitely [not]. We are confident, yes.”
“Filipinos cannot be cowed by terroristic acts,” he told the Palace press briefing.
“For a while, they would be frightened a little, but when they see [the government forces], they will continue with their lives. That’s just what we are, we always manage to stand up in times of distress.”
The Palace official then downplayed the Comelec’s worries as mere “speculations.”
In a related development:
• Philippine National Police Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said Friday he would visit Lanao del Norte to personally check on security measures for the second Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite on February 6.
“I will personally go there and supervise security measures there. For now, we do not see any problem as the first plebiscite in other areas is done and we will be focusing our forces there and we will put in more troops to ensure a peaceful plebiscite,” Albayalde said in a radio interview.
Senior Supt. Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, said 3,209 police officers would be deployed to six municipalities in Lanao del Norte and 39 barangays in North Cotabato.
Meanwhile, the military has deployed more than 10,000 troops and support units to help secure the BOL plebiscite, alongside the PNP.
The second BOL plebiscite will be held in the province of Lanao del Norte, except Iligan City; the municipalities of Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pikit, and Pigkawayan in the province of North Cotabato; and the 28 barangays to be included in the region.
The twin blasts that rocked the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu on Jan. 27 occurred barely a week after the first BOL plebiscite on Jan. 21.
Sulu was the only province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that voted against the measure, which seeks to create the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
According to Panelo, Comelec “does not have the capability” to conclude that the violent attacks will affect the voter turnout on Wednesday.
“It’s only the Armed Forces of the Philippines who can say whether it will affect or not because it’s them that secure the area. They’re just Comelec, they only know the elections,” he said.
“They’re just speculations. They’re doing it because there were bombings, so the people were scared. But remember the public said they’re going [back to] their normal activity. They are just alert now and vigilant and cautious, but they will vote,” he added, noting that the voter turnout during the first plebiscite, which was held last Jan. 21, was an “overwhelming 85 percent in participation.”
On Wednesday, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said some voters might feel worried about their safety following the two fatal blasts.
But he stressed the terror attacks would not affect the choice or decision of voters.
“Even though there are those afraid of their safety, their votes won’t change. When they do find themselves at the polling places, they will still vote the way they want. And that is what is really important,” he noted.
As a Mass was being held, two separate explosions rocked a Roman Catholic cathedral in Jolo, Sulu on Sunday, leaving 20 people dead and 100 others wounded.
Even as the Mindanao was still recovering from the deadly twin blasts that caught the attention of the international community, another explosion occurred inside a mosque in Zamboanga City Wednesday morning, killing two and injuring four others.
The successive bombing incidents came just days after the Jan. 21 BOL plebiscite.
The Comelec later proclaimed the ratification of the BOL by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
On Feb. 6, voters residing in Lanao del Norte, except in Iligan City, and six North Cotabato municipalities, will vote to determine if the residents entirely support the BOL.
The Palace had already declared a special non-working day in Lanao del Norte (except Iligan City) and Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pikit, Pigkawayan, and Tulunan towns in North Cotabato to give way for the upcoming plebiscite.
The Comelec eyes some 673,983 registered voters to participate in the said plebiscite. With PNA
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