COTABATO CITY – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday that no untoward incidents or complaints have been reported so far ahead of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) first parliamentary elections on Sept. 14.

Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia, who arrived in Cotabato City Friday morning, said only one election-related incident had been recorded since May, while just three firearms had been confiscated from 23,000 checkpoints conducted in the region.

“Sa kasalukuyan, wala pong untoward incidents na nangyayari po dito sa Bangsamoro,” Garcia said in an interview on Balitanghali.

“‘Yan po ay pambihira sapagkat hindi po usually ganyan. Dito sa lugar na ito dati, pag mga ganitong panahon ay ang dami nang mga insidente, ang dami na ring mga karahasan, at syempre ang dami na ring mga armas na nakukumpiska,” he said.

Garcia also said the poll body had not received any complaints or petitions seeking the disqualification of candidates.

Comelec personnel are currently checking the ballots to ensure that each batch is intended for its designated municipality and that no ballots for other areas were mistakenly included.

“Inaalam kung ‘yung mga balota ay sadyang para doon sa munisipyo. At the same time, inaalam din kung may mga naligaw na ibang balota,” Garcia said.

“So far po, 100% maayos po lahat ‘yung na-distribute nating mga kagamitan. Patuloy pa rin ‘yung deployment ng mga tauhan ng PNP, pati AFP, at nagdadagdag po sa ibang mga lugar,” he added.

Garcia is in Cotabato City with officials from the Comelec central office three days before the parliamentary elections. He is scheduled to meet with Bangsamoro officials, the Philippine National Police, and other election stakeholders.

He said the Comelec is ready for the region’s first parliamentary polls.

The poll body will also sign a memorandum of agreement Friday afternoon with the Independent Election Monitoring Center (IEMC-BARMM) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to formalize cooperation aimed at promoting peaceful, orderly, transparent and credible elections.

The IEMC is a Comelec-recognized multi-stakeholder initiative composed of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), Notre Dame University and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, among others.

International observers are also expected to arrive in the region beginning Friday and remain through next week.

On Saturday, the final testing and sealing of all automated counting machines will be conducted simultaneously in 1,186 schools designated as voting centers.

The Comelec said the process is intended to ensure that the machines are functioning properly and minimize the possibility of technical glitches on election day.

The BARMM Parliament has 80 seats, with 40 allocated to party representatives, 32 to district representatives and eight to sectoral representatives.