MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon raised a new question Thursday, January 24, about the certificate of canvass (COC) of Cotabato City in the recently concluded Bangsamoro plebiscite.

Guanzon said the “no” votes in the Cotabato City COC amounted to 24,994, but another election document – the Summary of Statement of Votes by Precinct (SSOVP) – said there were 22,507 “no” votes.

The commissioner pointed this out during the canvassing of votes by the Comelec sitting as the National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers (NPBOC) in the poll body’s headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.

The Cotabato City COC was the first COC to be canvassed by the board 3 days after it convened. 

“Is that supposed to be the same – 24,994 and 22,507? Is the 22,507 the ‘no’ votes?” Guanzon asked Cotabato City’s acting election officer, Rommel Rama, during the canvassing proper.

“Yes, your honor,” Rama said.

“Is that all? Because then you are lacking around 2,400 votes. Your total ‘no’ votes in your certificate of canvass is 24,994. Where did that figure come from?”

Rama said these were the figures provided by the Audit and Verification Group, part of the sub-canvassing committee that assists the board of canvassers.

Guanzon on Thursday was keen on keeping the COC intact and clean, so much so that she instructed the commission secretary (ComSec) when Rama was referring to the COC: “Don’t let him smudge the certificate, ComSec.”

Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas eventually referred this discrepancy to the poll body’s tabulation committee, after which this document is set to undergo an audit. 

Discrepancies earlier spotted

Earlier, two other discrepancies had been spotted in relation to the Cotabato City COC:

• The listing of 39,027 as the “total number of voters who actually voted,” when the COC itself said 36,682 voted “yes” and 24,994 voted “no”
• The listing of 71,963 as the “total number of registered voters” in Cotabato City, when the Project of Precincts (POP), a secure document with its own computer-generated hash code, said there were 113,751 registered voters there

Minutes before Guanzon raised her question about the COC, Comelec Commissioner Luie Guia pointed out the discrepancy involving the number of votes who actually voted.

Guia said, “Honorable Chair, we just noticed from the certificate of canvass that ‘the total number of voters who actually voted’ reflected in this document says 39,027, but if you total the votes obtained by ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ it would certainly be more than 39,027.”

Rama explained it as an error that started with the lower levels, and was carried over to the final COC of Cotabato City. 

Rama blamed the error on the plebiscite committees (PlebCom), the election inspectors manning polling precincts. 

“There was an error, your honor, on the part of the PlebCom, that’s why there was a discrepancy. Or we can say that the computation is not accurate, your honor, because of the omission or the incorrect data provided by the PlebCom, your honor,” Rama said.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez earlier dismissed this set of discrepancies as clerical errors. “I think mananaig ang katotohanan as soon as it is ventilated sa ating National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers (I think truth will prevail as soon as it is ventilated to our National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers),” Jimenez said.

Tension-filled plebiscite

The Cotabato City COC contains the following results, as read by Comelec Commissioner Al Parreño on Thursday:

• YES – 36,682
• NO – 24,994

With the hitch concerning this COC, and the absence of more COCs to canvass at that time, the Comelec promptly suspended the canvassing session on Thursday, and said canvassing will resume at 2 pm on Friday, January 25.

Shortly after suspending the session, COCs from Isabela City and Basilan Province reached the Comelec, bringing to 3 the number of COCs in the Comelec’s hands. The Comelec was set to canvass 4 COCs for the Bangsamoro plebiscite. 

The Bangsamoro plebiscite on Monday, January 21, sought to determine if voters favor the creation of a more powerful Muslim region in the southern Philippines – the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or BARMM. (READ: What you need to know about the Bangsamoro plebiscite) 

While seeking to end a decades-long Muslim rebellion in the southern Philippines, the proposed creation of the BARMM is fueling tensions especially in Cotabato City. 

The recent developments at the Comelec add another layer to this already-complex situation. Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani Sayadi, a staunch critic of the proposed BARMM, said she will file a manifestation about the supposed COC discrepancies, as she disputed her city’s apparent “yes” vote in the plebiscite. – Rappler.com