COTABATO CITY, Philippines — President Duterte was surprisingly silent on the opposition of certain sectors to the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) when he campaigned for its ratification here Friday.
Anti-BOL groups have been noisy about Duterte’s not prodding voters here and in Isabela City to vote in favor of the BOL during the plebiscite for its ratification on Monday.
They also questioned why Duterte did not call on members of the ruling Tan family in Sulu, led by the former governor of the island province Hadji Abdusakur. The Tans are campaigning against the BOL.
Mayors Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi and Vice Mayor Cherrylyn Akbar of the cities of Cotabato and Isabela, respectively, are also campaigning against the ratification of BOL.
Pro-BOL political leaders and peace activists said after the sortie here, Duterte had said there was no need for him to talk about the opposition to BOL of certain sectors.
“Being the father of this nation, we are all his children. Respect for a father is a strong culture among us. So how can we not support a good initiative of a father? His message implied that he wants all sectors to support the BOL,” Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu told reporters.
Mangudadatu said the 36 mayors of Maguindanao are all voting for the ratification of BOL on Monday.
Maguindanao is where Camp Darapanan, the main headquarters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is located.
Once ratified, the BOL will pave the way for the replacement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Duterte repeatedly called on residents in the core territory of BARMM to exercise on Monday their right of suffrage conscientiously.
Bobby Benito, director of ARMM’s Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission, said Duterte’s campaign message is not an appeal for mercy.
“There was nothing wrong with him not having asked people opposing the BOL to change their minds because there is no doubt the ‘yes’ vote will triumph on Jan. 21,” Benito said.
“We don’t have problem with his discourse. His call for a ‘yes’ vote was an instruction to the Muslims, Christians and Lumads, not an appeal for mercy,” he said.
Senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc said she is hoping that spoilers of BOL will not heighten their presence in today’s plebiscite.
“I hope that the spoilers will not be able to heighten their presence on Sunday, so that the people will not be intimidated in going to the precincts. I hope that the people would go out to vote yes or no,” Gutoc said during an interview with “The Chiefs” on One News/Cignal TV.
In the same program, University of the Philippines (UP) Institute of Islamic Studies Professor Julkipli Wadi credited the MILF for the positive development on the Moro people’s struggle for the establishment of a Bangsamoro entity.
Wadi said the MILF deserves recognition for its effort to have a BOL.
Duterte has campaigned in Mindanao to support BOL, a product of the 2014 peace agreement between the government and the MILF.
He said BOL, which would create the BARMM, is needed to curb extremism and to address the historical injustices against the Moros.
In Monday’s plebiscite, the voters will be asked whether they would ratify the BOL while those participating in the Feb. 6 electoral exercise will decide if they would like to join the BARMM.
The plebiscites will cover the ARMM’s 188 towns, the cities of Isabela and Cotabato and parts of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces.
The ARMM covers Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
If the BOL is ratified, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will hold another plebiscite on Feb. 6 in 28 barangays in North Cotabato which are outside ARMM but are contiguous to areas covered by BOL.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the canvassing would be done at the poll body’s main office at the Palacio del Governador in Intramuros, Manila.
“I think it’s because this is where the seat of authority that will proclaim winner or results of the plebiscite is located. So it was decided to do the canvassing here,” Jimenez said.
As a rule, voters will have to write “yes” or “no” or any its equivalent dialect in their ballots. Otherwise, their votes will be invalidated, he added.
Comelec, on the other hand, issued Resolution No. 10478, limiting “pre-proclamation” cases in connection to tomorrow’s plebiscite.
Comelec said certain limitations will be observed in accepting protest or complaints during the canvassing procedures or before the winning votes are proclaimed.
“Pre-proclamation controversies under the Omnibus Election Code and all matters in relation to the preparation, transmission, receipt, custody and appreciation of the Certificates of Canvassing (COCs) are not allowed in the canvassing of plebiscite results vote, except as provided for (in certain conditions),” it said.
However, the poll body said this restriction “does not preclude the authority” of the Comelec, convening as National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers (NPBOC), to initiate measures to correct glaring errors in the COCs. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Jose Rodel Clapano