Monta Saomay (seated right) a member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Lanao del Norte signs the application for registration at the COMELEC office in Muna, Lanao del Norte during the special registration in September 23. Khalid Batuampar, assistant election officer, assists him. (Divina M. Suson)
MUNAI, Lanao del Norte – Members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Lanao del Norte have begun to register with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) so they could vote in the coming plebiscite for the new Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.
MNLF area commander, Abdul Azis Batingolo, said their membership in the province stands at roughly 3,700.
Batingolo said most of their members have already registered with the Comelec, adding the MNLF intends to participate in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite in January, as well as the midterm elections in May next year.
“Dapat kaming bumaba galing sa bundok, maka-rehistro kami para maisali kami kung ano ang mga benefits na ibigay ng gobyerno (We need to go down from the mountains to register so that we can enjoy the benefits the government can give),” Batingolo said.
“Gusto din naming na maka-boto sa election para makapili kami sa mga gusto namin na kandidato (We also want to vote in the upcoming elections and choose the candidates we want),” he added.
'Yes' vote
Monta Saomay, 24, said he is one of the estimated 1,000 MNLF members in Munai town alone who have already registered with the Comelec.
Saomay said it will be his first time to cast a vote in regular elections, and that the BOL plebiscite is too important for him to pass.
“Hindi ako naka-register kasi nasa malayong lugar ako (I was not able to register in the past because I was in a distant place),” he said in an interview with the media inside the Comelec office here.
Munai Assistant Election Officer Khalil Batuampar assisted Saomay and 50 others in filing out their application forms. The special registration, which began on Sept. 23, was conducted for MNLF members who want to be counted in next year’s elections.
The MNLF was considered a rebel group in the 70s, but it entered into a peace treaty with the government in 1996.
Like any other Moro in Lanao del Norte, Saomay wants his vote to be counted in favor of the BOL. That is why, he will vote “Yes” in the plebiscite in January.
Under the BOL, six municipalities in Lanao del Norte are proposed to be included in the Bangsamoro area: Tagoloan, Balo-i, Pantar, Munai, Tangcal, and Nunungan.
However, Lanao del Norte 1st District Rep. Khalid Dimaporo reiterated his opposition to the inclusion of the six Lanao del Norte towns in the envisioned Bangsamoro region, adding he may question its constitutionality if needed.
In a BOL public hearing in March in the Lanao del Norte capital of Tubod, Dimaporo vowed the province will campaign for a "No" vote against the BOL.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1049403
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