Maguindanao del Norte town placed under Comelec control
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has placed the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte under its control, following the murder of its municipal election officer.
“[D]ue to the death of Election Officer (Maceda Lidasan) Abo and to prevent further violence, the [Comelec] hereby places Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao Del Norte, under Comelec control to ensure the peaceful and orderly conduct of the upcoming elections thereat,” said Comelec Resolution No. 11126, which was promulgated on April 4 but was published only on Monday.
The poll body designated Commissioner Noli Pipo as the commissioner in charge of Datu Odin Sinsuat, who shall exercise oversight functions and shall be the direct representative of the commission en banc in the town.
Once put under Comelec control, the poll body shall be the de facto government in charge of the locality and shall take immediate and direct control and supervision over all national and local officials and employees in the area.
It also has full control and supervision over all national and local law enforcement agencies, including the police, as well as military personnel, “for the purpose of ensuring the holding of free, peaceful, orderly, honest and credible elections” in the town.
Following the ambush and death of Lidasan-Abo on March 26, lawyer Muhammad Nabil Mutia, the provincial election officer, was designated to run the town’s election office.
Additional police personnel have also been deployed in Datu Odin Sinsuat and more police checkpoints along portions of the Cotabato City-Isulan (Sultan Kudarat province) highway have been set up since April 4.
Strongest answer
Comelec Chair George Garcia earlier called on the people of Datu Odin Sinsuat to not fear the Comelec control declaration, and that they should go on with their “normal lives.”
He said residents should continue going to their workplaces and school and do their daily activities.
According to Comelec, the additional soldiers and police officers deployed in the area would only maintain peace and order. They would not be allowed to stay within a 50-meter radius of the polling place. They would only be allowed to enter the voting precinct when they are going to cast votes and “if there is an actual disturbance of peace and order therein.”
“We want to make sure that no one will give up their lives again. This is our strongest answer to the ongoing violence there,” Garcia said.
Datu Odin Sinsuat has 82,586 registered voters, 104 clustered precincts and 39 voting centers, according to Comelec data.
Based on the latest 2020 census, the town has a population of around 116,768 in 34 barangays.
Garcia also assured that the officials and employees in Datu Odin Sinsuat would remain in their posts to allow the local government unit (LGU) to perform its regular functions.
“If the violence is not because of the setup in the LGU or is not instigated by anyone in the LGU, why should we even interfere in the LGU? It will be a ‘soft’ declaration of Comelec control,” Garcia said.
“But if we see that the Comelec must control the entire LGU, why not? We will do that,” he added.
Recommendation
Garcia said the recommendation to place Datu Odin Sinsuat under Comelec control came from the police and military, following the series of violence reported in the town.
Lidasan-Abo and her husband, Datu Jojo Abo, were murdered on March 26, two days before the start of the campaign period for local posts for the midterm elections in May.
They were on their way from Cotabato City to the local poll office in Barangay Dalican of Datu Odin Sinsuat when they were ambushed at 8:30 a.m. by unidentified gunmen along the national highway in Barangay Makir.
On March 17, lawyer Junisa Kimamao, counsel for the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was also killed in an ambush in Barangay Awang of the town. Her fiancé is still recuperating in a local hospital.
Another killing occurred in the town on April 3 despite the presence of more law enforcement units. The victim, Abdul Mokamad, 73, a retired police officer, was gunned down in front of a grocery shop in Barangay Dalican Poblacion. —WITH A REPORT FROM EDWIN FERNANDEZ
