Although no one has been reported injured yet, violence has already marred the baranggay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in some towns in Maguindanao, a Mindanao-based group of election watchdogs said. The Citizens Coalition for ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) Electoral Reform (Citizens CARE) said 11 out of 36 municipalities in Maguindanao are now facing “disorderly elections." Citizens CARE chair Sahid Ali said in an interview, “Violence has already erupted as political clan members in 11 municipalities want to control the most basic political unit of the government." "May naririnig na kaming bombahan at palitan ng gun shots (We have already heard bombings and exchange of gun shots)," Ali said. Ali said the municipalities affected are:
Parang; Buldon; Barira; Matanog; Datu Piang; Datu Saudi-Ampatuan; Datu Salibo; Datu Unsay; Talayan; Kabuntalan, and Pagagawan. Ali noted that the barangay (village) and youth polls were more intense than elections for mayors and governors because the feuding parties live in the same village. The feuding parties in these areas are “derailing the elections. They want to have [a] failure of elections," he said, quoting a statement of Citizens CARE, which has mobilized 200 personnel and volunteers in Maguindanao. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has deputized Citizens CARE in ARMM, including Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Lanao del Sur. Lawyer Ray Sumalipao, the Comelec regional election officer in ARMM, allowed Citizens CARE to conduct poll watching in the autonomous region. “In view of the desire of the [Comelec] to make every step of our electoral process as transparent as possible, we shall allow the Citizens CARE to assume the duties of poll watching," Sumalipao said. The Comelec has placed 2,301 of the country’s total 42,025 barangays on a watchlist, and a third of these barangays — 768 villages (or 33 percent) — are in the ARMM. The poll body placed a total of 224 barangays under Category 1 and 2,077 barangays under Category 2. According to the level of violence, the areas under Category 1 are those with intense political rivalries and previous incidents of poll-related violence in the May 2010 elections. The areas under Category 2 are those with threats coming from separatist groups. –VVP, GMANews.TV 
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