THE national canvassing for the second part of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite has been postponed to next week.
On Thursday, the National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers (NPBOC) decided to defer the national canvassing since it has yet to receive a Certificate of Canvas from areas covered by the plebiscite in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte.
Comelec spokesperson James B. Jimenez said only the PBOC of Kabacan, North Cotabato finished the canvassing of votes a day after the plebiscite on Feb. 6.
The NPBOC will reconvene on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. to give more time to other PBOCs to complete their respective canvassing.
“We are going to expect their arrival over the weekend,” Jimenez said.
Aside from Kabacan, other areas which will be submitting COC to the NPBOC are Lanao del Norte as well as the municipalities of Aleosan, Carmen, Midsayap, Pigkawayan, Pikit, and Tulunan in North Cotabato.
First-part report to Duterte
In a related development, Jimenez earlier said their legal department already completed its report on the result of the first part of the plebiscite on Jan. 21 ratifying BOL.
He said the report will be submitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
After receiving the report, Duterte can then start appointing the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which will initiate the formation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The World Bank lauded the recent ratification of the BOL, which it said, would hopefully bring lasting peace, stability, and prosperity in Mindanao.
It said it is ready to extend aid to the leader of BARMM.
“Among the key drivers of conflict in the area are interconnected issues of land ownership disputes, historical injustice and weak governance,” World Bank said in a statement.
“The formation of the Bangsamoro is one important step that can put the country in a better position to address these drivers of conflict,” it added.
The international financial institution, however, conceded that the transition process to creating BARMM is not without its set of challenges, as shown by the recent bombings in Jolo and the residual violence in other parts of Mindanao.
“Much work remains in translating the promise of autonomy and the peace process to security and prosperity for the Bangsamoro people and all the people of Mindanao,” World Bank said.