Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” Matabalao said Monday he personally witnessed a disturbance on election day and noticed that most of those involved were people he had never before seen in his city—raising the possibility that the election day violence was carried out by outsiders rather than local residents, in what he described as a disgrace to a growing, civilized city that deserves better.
Matabalao made the statement in a live interview relayed through DZRH correspondent Jun Dimatulac in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on September 14, speaking from Cotabato City as balloting continued under COMELEC supervision.
He said Cotabato City is known as a peaceful and civilized community, and that the violence, which included a commotion in District 2 that prompted COMELEC to consider extending voting hours, was inconsistent with the character of the city’s residents.
“Nakakalungkot nga, I witnessed a commotion kaninang hapon at nakita ko karamihan doon sa mga tao hindi pa nakikita dito dati. We are civilized, and ‘yung mga ganung klaseng gawain ay walang puwang sa isang sibilisadong lugar kagaya ng Cotabato,” Matabalao said.
He said the incidents occurred at a particularly unfortunate time, just as Cotabato City’s economy had been gaining momentum and as the international community’s attention was focused on the BARMM elections.
Matabalao said he was also personally aggrieved because his own name was drawn into the election day chaos, with reports indicating that his name was among those invoked or implicated by some of those involved in the disturbance.
He said all those responsible must be investigated and brought to justice, and confirmed that Cotabato City was placed under COMELEC control as of election morning, meaning that accountability for how the voting was conducted falls within the poll body’s direct supervision.
“Very unfortunate that these happened, but tandaan sana ng ating mga kababayan that we were placed under COMELEC control kaninang umaga. Lahat ng ito are under the direct supervision of COMELEC, and I will make sure that during the peace conference, we will request an investigation at the very beginning kung ano ang lumabas na nangyari sa kanilang area,” Matabalao said.
