PNP: 13 Basilan poll centers still haven’t started voting

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said at least 13 polling centers in Maluso, Basilan have yet to begin voting for the first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections.

In a press briefing in Camp Crame, PNP public information chief Col. Allen Rae Co explained that the voting centers were those affected by the allegedly pre-shaded ballots earlier reported by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

READ: Comelec may extend BARMM polls is Maluso, Basilan due to ballot issue

“We’re still waiting for the replacement ballots to arrive at the precincts,” Co noted.

Only Comelec can determine whether the incident indicated a failure of elections, he added.

Earlier, the PNP public information chief said at least 22 Basilan polling centers had not yet started voting on Monday.

Some 2.39 million voters in BARMM are expected to troop to the polls to vote for 80 seats in the regional parliament.

Despite reports of tensions and gunfire during the elections so far, Co said the PNP still maintained that the polls were “generally peaceful.”

“It’s isolated incidents in several areas. Generally, in most areas of the BARMM, voting is proceeding peacefully,” he stressed. /das