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