MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said that it is considering placing North Cotabato under its control in the wake of a recent bombing incident.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the poll body is awaiting reports from its field officials regarding the situation in the province.
“We are awaiting for reports from our field officials there, and we expect that they will be the ones recommending any future actions that we should take,” Jimenez said in press briefing.
“The elections of North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte will be happening Wednesday next week, so we have a very short of time,” Jimenez added.
Last Monday, an explosion shook Barangay Poblacion in the municipality of Magpet that killed a police officer and wounded at least seven other individuals.
READ: Cop dies, 7 hurt in North Cotabato roadside bombing
“We are actually constantly in contact with our local officials there as well as the [Philippine National Police]. We’ll see how this shakes up in the coming days,” Jimenez said.
Six municipalities or 39 barangays of North Cotabato will take part in the second round of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite on February 6.
The residents from the municipalities of Aleosan, Carmen, Cabacan, Midsayap, Pigkawayan and Pikit, will vote whether they want to be included in the newly established Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. /gsg
READ: Yes votes have it: Law creating Bangsamoro region ratified