MANILA — Presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez, Jr. hailed the successful holding of local elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, saying local governments passed the "litmus test of a well-functioning democracy."

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In a statement released Saturday, Galvez expressed his gratitude to members of the military and police for securing the region during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) held last Oct. 30.

This was the first time village and youth elections were held in the region after being formed 4 years ago and the first time for the Philippines since 2018.

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“Despite the occurrence of incidents in some parts of the country, the national government and the security sector can say that it did everything possible to protect our people from these peace spoilers,” he said.

He also lauded that there were no failure of elections in any part of the country, which was “a testament that the right of suffrage of
Filipinos was protected across the nation.”

"We must remember that the BARMM was just established four years ago, making it a newcomer, so to speak, in the affairs of governance, which makes the conduct of the recent elections in the region both inspiring and admirable," Galvez said.

“The BARMM leadership knows exactly the challenges it is facing, especially in the socio-economic and socio-political sphere. But despite these difficulties, it still forged ahead, confident in its capacity to hold free and honest elections,” he added.

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The Comelec on Tuesday told the ABS-CBN News Channel it has been able to validate 19 election-related deaths and 19 injuries nationwide, while it is still investigating other incidents.

Meanwhile, the Council for Climate and Conflict Action Asia (CCAA, formerly Alert International Philippines) reported “17 deaths alone in the Bangsamoro and 31 injuries in 57 incidents, including incidents of collective violence,” according to its trustee, Dr. Francisco Lara, Jr.

These incidents include the killing of a candidate for village chief in Brgy. Poktan in Butig, Lanao del Sur, shot by his own sibling.

Lara said Comelec and security forces should have been based in the Bangsamoro during the polls.

Compounding the lack of presence of authorities was the refusal of 2,000 teachers to serve as electoral board members in Cotabato City.

THE BANGSAMORO

The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) was ratified following a plebiscite in 2019, and the transition committee, which includes Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders as members, was constituted the same year.

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The BOL is part of the 2014 peace agreement between government and the formerly secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to finally end a protracted war in southern Philippines that has left around 120,000 dead.

This paved the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro region.

The area is an upgrade of and expansion of the former autonomous setup largely seen as ineffective.

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— with reports from Job Manahan and Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

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