THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will conduct special satellite registration for voters living within the proposed Bangsamoro Core Territory ahead of a possible plebiscite in the region.
The election body issued in December a resolution instructing election officers to conduct special registration of voters in 204 barangays in Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Basilan, North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte.
The resolution is part of the Comelec’s preparations for a possible plebiscite to ratify the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which is still pending in Congress, and to determine the region’s core territory.The draft law was transmitted to Congress on Sept. 10, 2014.
The law, which seeks to address the 40–year conflict in Mindanao, is based on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in March 2014.
“Ta-trabahuin pa yan (We are still working on it),” said lawyer Udtog M. Tago, Comelec provincial election supervisor for Maguindanao during a stakeholders meeting in Cotabato City on Tuesday.
The Comelec will coordinate with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to discuss logistical concerns, he added. No dates have been set.
Tago said prospective voter registrants with disabilities will be given consideration by the Commission. “Of course, you have to put in yung mga PWD (Of course, you have to consider PWD registrants).”
Residents of the 204 barangays identified in the resolution are urged to get in touch with the nearest Comelec office for details. – Jake Soriano, Vera Files
