MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez on Wednesday said that the commission would wait for the filing of complaints on the alleged manipulation of results of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite in Cotabato City.
“We will wait for the case to be filed so we would know exactly what the allegations are. Otherwise, we might be getting it wrong,” Jimenez told reporters.
“If we make a comment now, we will be getting many opportunities for misunderstanding. If there is an intention to file the protest, then we will wait for that to be filed before we answer the allegations,” he added.
Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi earlier said that she would file a petition before the Comelec, questioning the credibility of the BOL results.
Sayadi said that she was disappointed with the conduct of the plebiscite in her city where cases of harassment, allegedly by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were reported.
According to the certificate of canvass (COC) in the city, there were only 71,963 registered voters and 39,024 votes cast.
Based on the list of the Project of Precincts, however, the number of registered voters in Cotabato is 113,751, with 61,676 votes cast.
READ: Comelec admits ‘clerical error’ in number of registered voters, votes in Cotabato
Jimenez said that the National Board of Canvassers would decide if sanctions would be imposed on three election officers who signed the COC documents.
Despite the issue, Cotabato City was the first to deliver its COC. /gsg
READ: Comelec receives first certificate of canvass for BOL plebiscite