Solon questions inclusion of 6 Lanao towns in Moro land

TUBOD, Lanao del Norte —Lanao del Norte Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo said his province could not afford to let go of its six municipalities, which are being sought for inclusion in a future Bangsamoro territory under the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Dimaporo even questioned the validity of claims that the towns of Munai, Tangcal, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Balo-i had voted for inclusion in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao during a 2001 plebiscite.

“There is no available record of how the six municipalities voted. When we asked the [Commission on Elections], they responded that the records were burned,” Dimaporo said on the sidelines of the BBL consultation here on Thursday.

He said that a plebiscite could determine whether the people of Lanao del Norte wanted to be part of the Bangsamoro territory. —RICHEL UMEL