MANILA, Philippines – Two schools in separate towns in Maguindanao del Norte were hit by fire two days before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, incidents which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the regional police force believe were deliberate.

The first incident took place in Ruminimbang Elementary School in Barangay Ruminimbang in the town of Barira on Saturday, October 28, past 1 am.

No casualty was reported, the Comelec said, although classrooms from first to fourth grade were burned.

At 4 am, another blaze also struck Dalican Pilot Elementary School – some 73 kilometers away from the first school – situated in Barangay Dalican Poblacion in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat.

“The buildings were poured with three gallons of gasoline by unknown perpetrators that caused the burning of two classrooms and the school canteen,” the poll body said.

During elections in the Philippines, schools are used as voting centers.

The two barangays fall under the red category in the Comelec’s list of areas of concern, indicating that the election situation there was grave.

Police Brigadier General Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said they already identified persons of interest in the arson attacks.

He added that the cases are related to the intense rivalry in the local elections.

Despite the incidents, the poll body said elections can still push through in the said areas.

“Our election officers conducted an ocular inspection, and they reported that the elections can still be held in the schools struck by fire. There are still usable classrooms,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said on Saturday.

In Lanao del Norte, a fire also hit the library of Poona Piagapo Central Elementary School in Barangay Old Poblacion in the town of Poona Piagapo at 4 am on Saturday.

Garcia, citing the provincial election supervisor, said initial findings point to faulty electrical wiring as the cause of the fire. – with reports from Ferdinandh Cabrera/Rappler.com