On Saturday, April 13, 2024, residents of Barangay Kadingilan in the Midsayap Clusters cast their votes for the plebiscite for the creation of the eight new towns in the Special Geographic Area (SGA). (Benyamen Cabuntalan/BIO)
SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC AREA—A moro enclave that became an official part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) through a voter plebiscite in 2019—voted resoundingly ‘YES’ in another plebiscite here on April 13, 2024.
According to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the plebiscite had an official voter turnout of 81.10% out of its 89,594 registered voters. Of these, 72,358 voted in favor of creating the eight new municipalities, while 273 voted ‘NO’.
Member of Parliament Mohammad Kellie Antao, a staunch advocate for peace and development in the SGA, voted ‘YES’ in his assigned precinct yesterday and stated that 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.
With this overwhelming support, eight new municipalities will be created, namely Kapalawan, Old Kaabakan, Malidegao, Ligawasan, Tugunan, Nabalawag, Kadayangan, and Pahamuddin.
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.
Antao shared that prior to the 2019 plebiscite, 67 barangays petitioned for inclusion, but only 63 barangays made it to the final list. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
