MANILA — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia described the first-ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro region as successful and largely peaceful despite incidents of violence and alleged attempts to manipulate the vote.

Garcia said the Sept. 14 elections were the product of years of preparation, including coordination among government agencies, security efforts and educating voters on the parliamentary system.

“Kaya abot-langit ang aming pasasalamat: sa kabuuan, naging matagumpay at mapayapa ang halalang ito,” Garcia said.

Garcia acknowledged that the elections were not without problems, citing violence and attempts at fraud.

He said the Comelec strongly condemned such incidents and would not allow them to go unaddressed.

“Ang halalan ang tanging paraan upang marinig ang tunay na tinig ng mamamayan; ang sinumang gumamit ng dahas at pananakot ay hindi lamang lumalabag sa batas kundi binubusalan ang tinig na iyon,” Garcia said.

He said the alleged pre-shading of ballots to alter election results was already under investigation.

“Ang pagtatangkang baguhin ang resulta sa pamamagitan ng pre-shading ng mga balota ay iniimbestigahan na, at makakaasa kayo: ilalaban namin ito hanggang sa dulo ng proseso at hanggang sa makulong ang may sala, upang walang mangahas pang tumulad sa mga darating pang halalan,” he said.

Garcia also expressed condolences to those who died, prayed for those injured and voiced concern over the people placed at risk by the incidents.

Despite the violence, Garcia said candidates, political parties and their supporters remained calm and allowed the elections to proceed peacefully across much of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“Sa ganitong paraan nila ipinaglaban ang kapayapaan: sa pagpiling huwag lumaban. At sa pagpiling iyon, binigyan nila ng laban ang halalang ito. Sa matiwasay na pagdaos nito, nanalo ang Bangsamoro at nagtagumpay ang Pilipino,” Garcia said.

He thanked those who helped the Comelec conduct the elections, including individuals who contributed their time, knowledge and effort without expecting anything in return.

Garcia also thanked the Bangsamoro voters, saying 84.43 percent of registered voters participated in the elections.

“Higit sa lahat, nagpapasalamat kami sa bawat botante ng Bangsamoro. 84.43% ng mga rehistradong botante ang nag-isang bilang na hindi lamang nagbibigay ng matibay at malinaw na mandato sa mga bagong halal na miyembro ng Parlamento, kundi nagpapatunay na buo ang pagnanais ng Bangsamoro na isabuhay ang pangako ng kasaysayan,” he said.

Garcia called on the newly elected members of the Bangsamoro Parliament to live up to the trust placed in them by voters and become instruments of peace, justice and development.

“Sa mga bagong halal na miyembro ng Parlamento: ipinagkatiwala sa inyo ng mamamayan ang boto nilang pinagbuwisan ng dugo, panahon, at pananampalataya. Nawa’y maging karapat-dapat kayo sa makasaysayang pagkakataong ito, at maging instrumento ng kapayapaan, katarungan, at kaunlarang matagal nang ipinaglalaban ng Bangsamoro,” he said.

He said the Comelec would continue to pray for peace in the region and monitor the institution entrusted to it by the Bangsamoro people.