Residents in the Special Geographic Areas (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) favor the creation of eight towns out of the 63 barangays in North Cotabato.

The result of the SGA plebiscite on Saturday, April 13, 2024, showed that 72,358 residents voted “yes” to ratify the creation of the eight town while 273 voted against.

According to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), 72,658 out of the 89,594 eligible voters have cast their votes with 81.10 percent overall voter turnout.

Following the ratification, the eight newly created municipalities include Pahamuddin with 12 barangays; Tugunan with nine barangays; and Kadayangan, Nabalawag, Old Kaabakan, Kapalawan, Malidegao, and Ligawasan with seven barangays each.

“The peaceful and orderly conduct of the plebiscites would not have been successful without the invaluable cooperation of its partner agencies, namely the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), with the full support of the Local Government Units of the concerned Municipalities,” the COMELEC said.

“The Bangsamoro people, especially the residents of the 8 newly established municipalities, should also be commended for standing united in their years-long aspiration to have their own local government and easier access to essential services, since they voted to be included in the BARMM in the 2019 Plebiscite,” the poll body added.

SGA is a territory of the BARMM scattered in different municipalities in Cotabato Province, established through a lawful plebiscite in 2019, carving out 63 barangays from the municipalities of Carmen, Kabacan, Pikit, Aleosan, Midsayap, and Pigcawayan, according to the Bangsamoro Government.