Lanao del Norte refused to include six of its municipalities in the new Bangsamoro autonomous region.
This, according to the unofficial results of the Wednesday’s plebiscite released by the Provincial Plebiscite Board of Canvassers on Thursday, February 7.
Thirteen towns in Lanao del Norte rejected the inclusion of Balo-i, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan, and Tangkal which wanted to join the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Those municipalities who are not in favor of it were Bacolod, Baroy, Kauswagan, Kolambugan, Linamon, Maigo, Matungao, Tubod, Kapatagan, Lala, Magsaysay, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, and Sapad.
Meanwhile, those towns which supported the inclusion of the six towns in the Bangsamoro were Panto Ragat, Poona Piagapo, and Salvador.
Below is the breakdown of the results:
Balo-i
Yes: 8,553
No: 3,038
However, 154, 553 voters from all other towns voted no for Balo-i’s inclusion, while only 73,164 voters said yes.
Pantar
Yes: 7,846
No: 236
But all other towns dismissed its inclusion, garnering 150,705 no votes. Only 73,992 voters said yes.
Tagoloan
Yes: 2,790
No: 1,327
A total of 156,605 voters from other municipalities rejected the Tagoloan’s inclusion, while 78,849 approved it.
Munai
Yes: 10,766
No: 3
The number of voters outside Munai who said no, however, was higher (158,025) than those who said yes (71,148).
Nunungan
Yes: 1,846
No: 908
One hundred fifty-six and six hundred thirty no votes were recorded in other towns, compared to the 79,935 yes votes.
Tangkal
Yes: 6,277
No: 6
Those who opposed Tangkal’s inclusion were at 157,417, while voters who are in favor of it were at 75,364.
For the six towns to be included in the BARMM, majority of Lanao del Norte including both the specified six municipalities and the other 16 should agree.
The National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headquarters in Manila has yet to receive the results.
The Comelec last month announced the ratification of Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), after 1,504,017 residents in the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) voted yes to the creation of the BARMM.