CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao (PNA) – Calls for the holding of advance elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) continued after the poll body scheduled an en banc session on the issue.

Lawyer Ray Sumalipao, regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in ARMM, said the poll body will have an en banc session on April 15.

Various non-government organizations and poll watchdogs favor the holding of early balloting in the ARMM – the traditional hot spot area during electoral processes.

“It’s better to have the election held ahead than other regions so the poll watching is focused on one particular area only,” Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, chair of Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said.

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento was quoted as saying that the poll body is seriously considering the early ARMM balloting.

He said holding early elections in ARMM would allow the Comelec to “focus on holding orderly elections the region’s provinces” where polls in the past were marred by fraud and violence.

“There is a petition to hold early elections in the ARMM to be heard on April 15, which we welcome because it would allow the Comelec, media, watchdogs, and foreign observers to focus on the region’s provinces and to help guard the polls against fraud and violence,” said Sarmiento, who was likely to be assigned as Commissioner- in-Charge in ARMM.

ARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

Except Tawi-Tawi, other ARMM provinces have been identified as “areas of immediate concern” by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Nationwide, the PNP has listed 558 cities and towns to be areas of immediate concern, and 118 of these can be found in the ARMM. Sarmiento said if he had his way, he would have wanted the election to be held one week ahead of the May 10 polls.