Bloody Incidents Rock BARMM Polls in Cotabato City; Voting Precincts Under Comelec Control

COTABATO CITY — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has placed all 37 barangays in Cotabato City under its control following deadly incidents that occurred late Sunday, September 13, and just as polling precincts opened early Monday, September 14, for the Bangsamoro parliamentary electoral exercise. Cotabato City serves as the capital of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), whose territory includes the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, along with the cities of Lamitan and Marawi. Regional officials of the Comelec in BARMM, along with Chairman George Erwin Garcia, confirmed that Maluso town in Basilan was also placed under direct control due to violent incidents related to the Bangsamoro parliamentary polls. Three Moro men—Caril Abdul Lumidsog, his brother Bain Abdul Lumidsog, and Idar Kasan Andog—were killed in an attack by gunmen near the Datu Usman Mampen Elementary School in Barangay Bagua 2 shortly before midnight Sunday. Police spokesperson Captain Steffie Salanguit and Cotabato City Police Office director Col. Jibin Bongcayao stated that 15 other villagers were wounded in the incident. Barangay Bagua 2 chairman Fahad Singh reported that the slain men and the wounded were his companions. They were reportedly checking reports of gunmen near the school campus when they were fired upon with assault rifles. Approximately two hours earlier, a powerful explosion in Purok Amirol, Mother Barangay Kalanganan, Cotabato City, resulted in the death of Zainodin Sapal Macabuat. Barangay officials suggested the explosion might have been accidental, caused by a fragmentation grenade Macabuat was allegedly carrying. Furthermore, two men identified with a political party died from gunshot wounds sustained in a shootout early Monday at the Cotabato City Central Elementary School. One companion and an on-duty policeman were also wounded in the exchange of gunfire. Joint security forces, including personnel from PRO-BAR, Regions 11 and 12, the 6th Marine Battalion, and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, have secured all polling sites in Cotabato City. In contrast, the BARMM parliamentary elections in nearby towns of Maguindanao del Norte, such as Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat, proceeded in an orderly and peaceful manner.