Marcos Unhappy Over Election-Related Deaths in BARMM's First Polls

Malacañang on Tuesday lamented the recorded deaths in the first-ever elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), saying that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was unhappy with the killings. This developed even as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) described the BARMM polls as generally peaceful, save for a few isolated incidents of violence. At least four people were killed and 19 others wounded, with most of the victims logged in a shootout in Cotabato City on the eve of the elections. "Kahit isang tao lang po ang nasaktan hindi po ikasasaya ng Pangulo, kahit sabihin po natin generally peaceful and orderly iyong nangyaring eleksyon kahapon basta po mayroong kahit isa na nasaktan hindi po magiging maganda ang pakiramdam ninuman, lalung-lalo na ng Pangulo," Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said. (Even if just one person was hurt, the President would not be happy with it, even if you say that the elections yesterday were generally peaceful and orderly, as long as even one person was hurt, no one would be happy with it, especially the President.) Nonetheless, Castro said the BARMM election was still a success. "Sa pananaw po ng administrasyon ay naging maganda naman po ang naging eleksyon kahapon sa BARMM," Castro said. (In the views of the administration, the elections in BARMM still went well.) Citing reports from the Philippine National Police and the COMELEC, Castro said the election turnout was still high. Aside from the incidents of violence, the Palace official said the election was still generally orderly and peaceful. — VDV, GMA News