COTABATO CITY – A Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution endorsing an early election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) is getting the support of local officials, military and even Malacanang.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, designated Armm executive secretary, said acting Governor Ansaruddin Adiong was pushing for an advance balloting to prevent violence due to heated political rivalries among local aspirants in the region.

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The acting governor believed that local elections in the region should be held ahead of the national polls to ensure honest, orderly, peaceful and credible elections.

Armm is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Sinarimbo, a known election lawyer in Cotabato City, also suggested to the poll body that holding of training for election personnel on the use of modern election technology would help ensure credible elections.

"The poll watchdogs accredited by the Comelec should also be educated about the technology as early as possible," Sinarimbo said.

Reynaldo Tobilonia, North Cotabato election supervisor, said the Commission is planning to hold the election as early as next month, or four months before the May 10 elections.

Like many local election officers, Tobilonia is also pushing for the early balloting in the region.

"Through early balloting, the security of election personnel, the voters and the general public will be ensured," Tobilonia said.

Supporting the early Armm elections, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Victor Ibrado said it is “a very good idea.”

“You know, the situation in Maguindanao is different so I guess we will need more troops there, more people to make sure that the elections are held peacefully and orderly,” said Ibrado.

About 4,000 troops remain deployed in the province despite the lifting of the Martial Law on Dec. 14 after eight days of enforcement. The province, however, is still under a State of Emergency.

“If we hold it (elections) at the same time in the other areas, our forces will be dissipated. If we will hold it earlier, then we can concentrate our forces there. After that, we will have no problem in Maguindanao,” Ibrado said.

Martial Rule was declared in Maguindanao after 57 people, including 30 journalists, were massacred on November 23.

The gruesome murder of 57 people, believed to be perpetrated by the patriarch and scions of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao, shocked the world beyond its senses.

The sheer number of journalists killed catapulted the country to be ranked as the most dangerous country for journalists, surpassing countries that are even engaged in war.

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Macapagal-Arroyo will likely certify as urgent the proposal of the Comelec for an early election in the Armm.

“If it is so recommended to the President as an urgent measure, then we will prepare the necessary document for the President to sign so that both Houses of Congress will receive it on time,” Ermita said.

On Tuesday, the Comelec passed a resolution urging Congress to fast-track the passage of a bill allowing early voting in the Armm for the May 2010 presidential elections not later than April 12 next year.

The Comelec is pushing for an early elections to help prevent fraud in the region, especially in the light of the poll-related massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last Nov. 23.

“For the sake of the orderly conduct of a peaceful election, Malacanang will definitely go along with it,” Ermita said.

At the moment, Ermita said the Comelec is in the thick of preparations for next year’s nationwide conduct of a synchronized automated elections, including in the Armm. (PNA/VR/Sunnex)