MANILA, Philippines – The elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) were generally peaceful and the automated casting of ballots proceeded smoothly although there were reports of isolated violent incidents, authorities reported yesterday.
Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to continue coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure the peaceful canvassing of votes and proclamation of winners.
“Generally peaceful, no untoward incident except the isolated case in Basilan. Hopefully, the elections will proceed peacefully and in an orderly manner,” Puno told the press at PNP headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
PNP chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said the elections were generally peaceful despite skirmishes between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Basilan.
Armed Forces vice chief Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna, who is also head of Task Force Halalan 2008, said the hostilities
in North Cotabato between government troops and the MILF did not affect the peaceful elections in the ARMM.
Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said elections in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were very peaceful contrary to the expected outbreak of poll violence in the two provinces.
Allaga, however, said that there were reports of ballot snatching by suspected members of the MILF in Basilan.
Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chairman Henrietta de Villa said the poll watchdog group is satisfied with the turnout of the elections in ARMM despite some reports of ballot snatching and isolated violence.
De Villa said the automated election machines supplied by Smartmatic and Avante Technology Inc. helped in the quick casting of ballots and canvassing.
“So far comparatively (with previous ARMM polls) I see an improvement. It has considerably improved. Definitely there has been a reduction in the anomalies because human handling has become limited and results of the elections would be known in a shorter time,” she said.
Comelec estimates 60 percent turnout
Poll officials said the polls went relatively peaceful even though there were reports of ballot boxes being snatched in some barangays.
Comelec Chairman Jose Melo estimated the turnout of voters at about 60 percent.
Melo said armed men snatched the ballot boxes in Barangays Tumahubong and Baiwas in Sumisip, Basilan, where 1,896 voters failed to cast their votes.
“We’ll be studying if this (ballot snatching in Sumisip) will affect the results of the elections there. If it will not affect the results, we might no longer call for special elections there,” Melo told a press conference at the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila.
The opening of polling precincts in Barangays Mangalut and Manguso in Akbar, Basilan was delayed after the teachers who are members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) refused to report for duty after a shootout occurred during the transport of ballot boxes.
The local Comelec officials appointed several policemen and civil servants to replace the teachers and act as BEI members to supervise the elections.
The Comelec also transferred the polling precincts from Barangay Gayonga in Kabuntalan, Shariff Kabunsuan to the nearby town of Mother Kabuntalan due to a shooting incident near the area.
The ARMM is composed of the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The region has 1,516,775 registered voters that are expected to cast their votes through the very first automated election system in the country’s history in 1,903 polling precincts to choose a regional governor and vice governor and 24 assemblymen of the Regional Legislative Assembly.
The ARMM gubernatorial candidates are reelectionist Datu Zaldy Puti Uy Ampatuan (Lakas-CMD), Guimid Panalangin Matalam (Pwersa
ng Masang Pilipino), Ali Jumadil Omar (independent), Jupakar Pindah-Asia Arabani (independent), Ismain Berto Ibrahim (independent), Alvarez Silal Isnaji (independent), and Ahmad Darping Nooh (Independent).
Bets for regional vice governor are reelectionist Ansaruddin-Abdul Malik Alonto Adiong (Lakas-CMD), Kadra Asani Masihul (KBL), Kursid Hajirie Sampang (independent), Alex Andul Qayyum Langco Ambor (independent), and Ailani Jr. Tan Susulan (independent).
Two types of automated election machines were used – the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) and the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) system.
OMR required voters to fill up a ballot, which is then counted with a specially designed machine, while DRE allowed voters to cast their votes through touch screen.
The DRE was reportedly used in Maguindanao while the OMR technology was used in the cities of Marawi and Lamitan as well as in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, and Shariff Kabunsuan.
The police have identified 887 barangays as areas of concern or hot spots while 49 areas were tagged as areas of immediate concern.
Melo said that in Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, there were no reports of any violence in the polling precincts.
Comelec executive director Jose Tolentino, however, said that 47 of the 3,050 DRE machines were replaced due to technical problems.
“Nothing is perfect but replacement machines are readily available. There are 1.5 million voters in the ARMM and if some 1,000 voters, for instance, were not able to vote, I hope that it won’t be the one highlighted (in the media). It’s only a small percentage,” said Tolentino.
Sen. Richard Gordon, author of the election automation law, said the ARMM automated polls showed that the country can go high-tech and discard the manual elections that are tainted with poll fraud.
Sen. Loren Legarda, however, said the government should re-evaluate the computerization scheme and correct the defects in the automated polls system.
The elections yesterday were the sixth regional polls in the ARMM since its creation through a plebiscite in 1990.
Election results from Mapun, Tawi-Tawi, which is 16 hours by boat from the capital town of Bongao, were the first poll results received in Manila.
Tawi-Tawi used the OMR system of Avante International Technology Inc. Polls were was closed at 3 p.m. and at around 4:20 p.m. the Board of Election Inspectors started counting the ballots using the automated counting machines. The results were received in Manila at 4:55 p.m.
The Army’s 6th Infantry Division and the ARMM police did not set checkpoints along the highway in Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan but government troops were deployed in strategic hills near main roads in areas where the elections were held.
“This is one way of stopping saboteurs coming near the highways and the polling sites,” said regional Army spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando.
MILF rebel killed in clash with Marines
A member of the MILF was killed when the rebels clashed with Marines last Sunday night after the guerrillas tried to harass Comelec personnel in Lamitan City, Basilan.
The MILF rebels led by Commander Rajam Mutalib tried to stop the Comelec employees from transporting election paraphernalia at Barangay Baas.
Basilan Police provincial director Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar said the Marines escorting the Comelec team clashed with the MILF rebels and after a 30-minute firefight one of the rebels identified as Robert Alviar was killed.
“Reports disclosed that the MILF rebels were trying to block the Comelec (team) and tried to confiscate the election paraphernalia to stop the conduct of the election,” Macapantar said.
Eid Kabalu, MILF chief for civil military affairs, denied there was a directive to guerrillas to disrupt the elections.
“While it is true we oppose the holding of the election, the protest is only to postpone the election on the assumption it will affect the peace talks if and when the memorandum on agreement on ancestral domain signing will push through,” Kabalu clarified.
Foreign observers belonging to the Asian Network for Free Election (ANFREL) recommended continued education and empowerment initiatives to voters in the ARMM and other parts of the country.
The 22 foreign observers from ANFREL have toured the ARMM provinces and discovered that some voters do not have knowledge of the automated polling system.
The observers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand reported that the situation in ARMM prior to elections was “peaceful” in general, except for some concerns in areas of Basilan where observers were restricted.
“The initiatives for reforms in Philippine elections, whether the initiatives will be coming from the government or private sector, must continue and must start right now to ensure that the general elections by 2010 are orderly, clean and honest,” said ANFREL executive director Somsri Hananuntasuk of Thailand during the 4th Mindanao Media Summit held last week in Davao City. – With James Mananghaya, Jaime Laude, Roel Pareño, John Unson, Edith Regalado, Ben Serrano, Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez, AP