By Noel Y. Punzalan
COTABATO
CITY, July 20 (PNA) -- A 10-day sacrifice is nothing compared to a
lifelong label as “cheating capital” of the country come election time.
Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), who now have high praises for the Aquino government, may well agree to this following the successful conduct of the July 9-18 re-registration of voters in the two-city, five-province region.
The ARMM comprises the cities of Marawi and Lamitan and the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Lanao del Sur.
"The national government has done what is best for the ARMM electorates,” ARMM acting Gov. Mujiv Hataman said in a recent interview.
“Now, we are more confident of credible results to come out in the forthcoming polls following the re-registration activity,” Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu said as he lauded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for a “job well done.”
Maguindanao Vice Gov. Dustin Mastura, meanwhile, said that the principle of “Isang tao, isang boto” once again reigns in the region.
“This is some thing good for the people of ARMM. We would not be alleged as election cheaters anymore,” he said.
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes, who visited Maguindanao during his last three days of monitoring the voters’ list-up, said his office managed to register 1.2 million voters in the region, a far cry from its old list of 1.7 million voting registrants.
“Despite some reported irregularities such as the 'hakot' (haul) system, a concerted effort among Comelec, police and military personnel managed to thwart what could have been another case of election cheating in the future,” Mayor Lester Sinsuat of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, said.
Lawyer Udtog Tago, provincial election supervisor for Maguindanao, said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also played a vital role during the 10-day activity, as there was no reported registration-related incident involving the rebel group that has an ongoing peace overture with the government.
Since January this year, there were no reported encounters between military and MILF forces in Maguindanao.
“The MILF has responded positively to security coordination initiated by the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and ARMM police command,” Tago said.
Maguindanao First District Rep. Bai Sandra Sema, for her part, proposed that ARMM officials should draft a resolution expressing appreciation to the military, police and MILF for a well-coordinated security disposition during the registration activity.
She noted that members of the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which inked a final peace accord with the government in 1996, also showed up at registration centers during the 10-day period.
The congresswoman’s husband, Cotabato City Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema, concurrently chairs the MNLF's biggest faction based in Central Mindanao.
The Catholic Church-backed Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) also extolled the government on the recent task but recommended that the Comelec make public the number of underage registrants that were removed from the list of applicants per province or barangay and also make public the number of registrants who were discovered to have registered more than once through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System per province or barangay.
“This is to disabuse public perception that underage registrants continue to pollute the new List of Voters in the ARMM; to assure the public that automating registration – the Voter Registration Machine that captures biometrics and the AFIS - indeed deletes flying voters,” Henrietta de Villa, PPCRV national chairperson, said in a communiqué to the Comelec.
Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), who now have high praises for the Aquino government, may well agree to this following the successful conduct of the July 9-18 re-registration of voters in the two-city, five-province region.
The ARMM comprises the cities of Marawi and Lamitan and the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Lanao del Sur.
"The national government has done what is best for the ARMM electorates,” ARMM acting Gov. Mujiv Hataman said in a recent interview.
“Now, we are more confident of credible results to come out in the forthcoming polls following the re-registration activity,” Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu said as he lauded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for a “job well done.”
Maguindanao Vice Gov. Dustin Mastura, meanwhile, said that the principle of “Isang tao, isang boto” once again reigns in the region.
“This is some thing good for the people of ARMM. We would not be alleged as election cheaters anymore,” he said.
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes, who visited Maguindanao during his last three days of monitoring the voters’ list-up, said his office managed to register 1.2 million voters in the region, a far cry from its old list of 1.7 million voting registrants.
“Despite some reported irregularities such as the 'hakot' (haul) system, a concerted effort among Comelec, police and military personnel managed to thwart what could have been another case of election cheating in the future,” Mayor Lester Sinsuat of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, said.
Lawyer Udtog Tago, provincial election supervisor for Maguindanao, said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also played a vital role during the 10-day activity, as there was no reported registration-related incident involving the rebel group that has an ongoing peace overture with the government.
Since January this year, there were no reported encounters between military and MILF forces in Maguindanao.
“The MILF has responded positively to security coordination initiated by the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and ARMM police command,” Tago said.
Maguindanao First District Rep. Bai Sandra Sema, for her part, proposed that ARMM officials should draft a resolution expressing appreciation to the military, police and MILF for a well-coordinated security disposition during the registration activity.
She noted that members of the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which inked a final peace accord with the government in 1996, also showed up at registration centers during the 10-day period.
The congresswoman’s husband, Cotabato City Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema, concurrently chairs the MNLF's biggest faction based in Central Mindanao.
The Catholic Church-backed Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) also extolled the government on the recent task but recommended that the Comelec make public the number of underage registrants that were removed from the list of applicants per province or barangay and also make public the number of registrants who were discovered to have registered more than once through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System per province or barangay.
“This is to disabuse public perception that underage registrants continue to pollute the new List of Voters in the ARMM; to assure the public that automating registration – the Voter Registration Machine that captures biometrics and the AFIS - indeed deletes flying voters,” Henrietta de Villa, PPCRV national chairperson, said in a communiqué to the Comelec.
Such
action on their recommendation, she said, would help the public realize
that the Comelec is a credible and competent manager of our elections;
and restore the people’s trust in elections and impel participation in
good governance. (PNA)
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