Maguindanao plebiscite: Gun ban starts August 16

MANILA, Philippines — A gun ban will be implemented from Aug. 16 to Sept. 24 as part of the security measures for the holding of a plebiscite in Maguindanao on Sept. 17.

In a resolution promulgated on Aug. 3, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said checkpoints would be set up in the province during the same period.

The plebiscite will ratify the division of Maguindanao into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, as provided under Republic Act 11550 signed by former president Rodrigo Duterte in May 2021.

The resolution was published in The STAR on Wednesday.

The poll body ordered its information department to furnish copies of the resolution to the Department of Justice, Cotabato City prosecutor’s office, Maguindanao provincial prosecutor’s office, Department of National Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Cotabato City police office and 36 local government units in Maguindanao.

The Comelec regional director in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, provincial election supervisor and election officers in the province should also be furnished copies of the resolution, the poll body said.

Comelec acting acting spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said Maguindanao allotted P89.14 million for the plebiscite.