TUBOD, Lanao del Norte - The six contested towns in this province will remain under its jurisdiction after the "no" vote won in the February 6 Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite.
During the final canvassing Thursday, February 7, results showed that the six towns that vied for inclusion in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao voted "yes" but all other towns in the province voted against it
The provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that the province's 22 towns have a total registered voters of 352,518, but only 242,667 actually cast their ballots.
The results are as follows:
Balo-i
“Yes” to inclusion: 8,553
“No” to inclusion: 3,038
vs.
All other towns on Balo-i's inclusion:
“Yes” to inclusion: 73,164
“No” to inclusion: 154,553
Munai
“Yes” to inclusion: 10,765
“No” to inclusion: 4
vs.
All other towns on Munai's inclusion:
“Yes” to inclusion: 71,148
“No” to inclusion: 158,025
Nunungan
“Yes” to inclusion: 1,802
“No” to inclusion: 1,004
vs.
All other towns on Nunungan's inclusion:
“Yes” to inclusion: 79,935
“No” to inclusion: 156,630
Pantar
“Yes” to inclusion: 7,840
“No” to inclusion: 256
vs.
All other towns on Pantar's inclusion:
“Yes” to inclusion: 73,992
“No” to inclusion: 150,705
Tagoloan
“Yes” to inclusion: 2,760
“No” to inclusion: 1,373
vs.
All other towns in Tagoloan's inclusion:
“Yes” to inclusion: 78,849
“No” to inclusion: 156,605
Tangkal
“Yes” to inclusion: 6,276
“No” to inclusion: 0
vs.
All other towns on Tangkal's inclusion:
“Yes” to inclusion: 75,364
“No” to inclusion: 157,417
Comelec Provincial Election Supervisor Joseph Hamilton Cuevas said they will transmit the results to the national headquarters for an official declaration.
"This is so far the safest and peaceful plebiscite ever happened," Cuevas said.
Lanao del Norte Governor Imelda Dimaporo said that she hopes that the results will be respected.
Dimaporo reiterated that she and her husband, first district Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo, and son Khalid Dimaporo, the first district representative, supported the BOL but only opposed the inclusion of the six towns in the BARMM.
"I do pray that the new BARMM will be a success and they will have peace," she said.
Maigo town Mayor Rafael Rizalda, who campaigned for the inclusion of the six towns into the BARMM, said he respects the plebiscite results even if his own constituents voted "no".