North Cotabato residents ratify creation of 8 new municipalities in BARMM
Published April 14, 2024 11:14am Majority of voters in some towns of North Cotabato on Saturday expressed approval via plebiscite for the creation of eight new municipalities in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). A total of 72,358 voters ratified the creation of the eight new municipalities, […]
Tomas Kauer - News Moderator 
Majority of voters in some towns of North Cotabato on Saturday expressed approval via plebiscite for the creation of eight new municipalities in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
A total of 72,358 voters ratified the creation of the eight new municipalities, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said in a press statement. Only 103 voted no.
Of the 89,594 registered voters in the participating barangays, 72,658 voters voted, representing a voter turnout of 81.10%, the poll body added.
The Comelec said the plebiscite was successful, peaceful, and orderly, with the help of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and local government units.
Voting was conducted from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in elementary schools and eight canvassing centers. The canvassing of votes, meanwhile, was done at 6 p.m. in the mother municipalities where the new municipalities will be created, the poll body added.
The eight new municipalities thus created are:
- Kadayangan
- Nabalawag
- Old Kaabakan
- Kapalawan
- Malidegao
- Tugunan
- Ligawasan
- Pahamuddin
The above-mentioned barangays came from the municipalities of Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pigcawayan, and Pikit, Comelec said.
BARMM Member of Parliament Kellie Antao on Saturday said the voting was the culmination of the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people in the area for inclusion in the autonomous region.
“The event today is indeed historical as this represents the aspirations of our people,” Antao said.
“SGA is a territory of the BARMM scattered in different municipalities of Cotabato Province, established through a lawful plebiscite in 2019, carving out 63 barangays from the municipalities of Carmen, Kabacan, Pikit, Aleosan, Midsayap, and Pigcawayan,” the BARMM Information Office said.
Before the 2019 plebiscite, 67 barangays petitioned to be included in SGA but only 63 barangays made it to the final list, Antao said. —KG, GMA Integrated News
