COTABATO CITY — Basilan Vice Gov. Hadjiman “Jim” Hataman-Salliman described the discovery of pre-shaded ballots in Maluso as an apparent attempt to frustrate the Bangsamoro people’s pursuit of peace, progress, and self-governance.
He said the incident should not be allowed to damage the historic first regular parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) or discredit the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP).The statement came after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) placed Maluso under its control following the discovery of pre-shaded ballots in 36 of the town’s 68 precincts.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia ordered the immediate reprinting of the affected ballots. The move caused delays in voting as election officials worked to replace the questionable ballots and protect the integrity of the elections.
Hataman said the incident must be viewed in the context of the Bangsamoro people’s long struggle to achieve peace and establish a government based on the genuine choice of voters.He described the discovery as a possible effort to weaken public trust in the electoral process and damage the reputation of the BFP, which is participating in the parliamentary elections.
However, Hataman did not name any person or group responsible for the incident.The Comelec has also not yet identified who marked the ballots or determined the motive behind the incident. Authorities are expected to investigate the matter further.
The incident is significant because Maluso has 32,121 registered voters, while Basilan has a total of 248,245 registered voters across 210 barangays.Before Election Day, government officials, security forces, election authorities, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders had committed to helping maintain peaceful and credible elections in the province.
During an activity in Lamitan City on September 9, government and MILF representatives signed guidelines to improve coordination between their ceasefire mechanisms during the election period.Basilan Gov. Mujiv Hataman also stressed that peaceful elections require not only the absence of violence but also an honest and credible voting process.
Vice Gov. Hataman urged authorities to fully investigate the incident while allowing legitimate voters to exercise their right to choose their representatives.
He said isolated incidents should not derail the region’s democratic transition or bring back the fear and conflict that the Bangsamoro peace process has worked to overcome.The BFP is among the regional political parties taking part in the elections, with candidates running for seats in Basilan and other areas of BARMM.
The first regular parliamentary elections will determine the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, which will later choose the region’s Chief Minister.Hataman said the incident should be treated as a test of the institutions created to protect peace and self-governance in the Bangsamoro—not as a reason to abandon the democratic process.“The aspiration for peace, prosperity and self-governance must prevail,” he said.
