COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 17 September) – Saturday’s plebiscite on the division of Maguindanao into two provinces was peaceful and unlike the May 2022 elections, there were no long lines as voters’ turnout in some schools was low.
At the Pinguiaman Elementary School in Dau Odin Sinsuat, voters came early and at past 9 a.m. several more voters could be seen waiting for their turn to cast their ballots but in Parang town, as of 11 a.m. only a few voters were around.
Manalao Pinguiaman, principal of the Datu Pinguiaman Elementary School said many voters came very early. “Masaya sila,” they were happy, he said, adding that residents dream of having a province “na maging tututok sa mga problema sa tao” that will really attend to the needs of the people.
Maguindanao has 36 towns. Republic Act 11550 sought to divide the province into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur.
Authorities deployed security forces in schools serving as voting centers to ensure the security of voters.
Brig. Gen. John Gano Guyguyon, regional director of the BARMM Police, said the conduct of the plebiscite was generally peaceful.
“Napakaganda. Maganda yung situation. Sana nga tuloy-tuloy ito” (Beautiful. The situation is beautiful. We hope this continues), he said.
The provincial capitol in Buluan, Maguindanao is the venue of the canvassing.
When the split is ratified by the voters during the plebiscite, Maguindanao Governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu will serve as Governor of Maguindanao del Sur while Vice Governor Ainee Sinsuat will serve as Governor of Maguindanao del Norte.
Mangudadatu is the wife of former Sultan Kudarat Governor Suharto “Teng” Mangudadatu .Their son, Datu Pax Ali is the incumbent Sultan Kudarat Governor. Sinsuat is wife of Datu Odin Sinsuat mayor Lester, who had earlier served as Maguindanao Vice Governor. (MindaNews)