Polls in Marawi City mark orderly start amid early queues

Voters line up in an outdoor corridor and inside a classroom, seen through a jalousie window with metal security bars, at a temporary polling precinct in Barangay Sagonsongan, Marawi City, today, Monday, September 14, 2026, during the conduct of the BARMM parliamentary elections. Photo by Cong B. Corrales, Inquirer Mindanao MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections kicked off here peacefully on Monday, September 14, characterized by organized polling centers and high early voter turnout.

Initial assessments indicated a peaceful voting process with no untoward incidents, according to Lt. Col. Eugene Flores, commanding officer of the Army’s 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion that oversees security of this capital city of Lanao del Sur province throughout the balloting exercise.

At the multi-purpose hall in Barangay Sagonsongan, which serves voters from three barangays, the election was described as orderly and organized.

1Lt. Nica Aaron of the Army’s 1st CMO Company under the 2nd CMO Battalion, noted that military personnel implemented a step-by-step process with designated entrances, exits, holding and waiting areas. 

Priority lanes were established for voters who are elderly, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) starting past 5:00 a.m.

This organized system benefited voters like 74-year-old Labi Oding Didaagun, a displaced survivor of the Marawi siege. Accompanied and assisted by her grandchild, Didaagun lined up at 6:30 a.m. and voted quickly due to the priority lane. Showing her ink-stained finger, she described the voting experience as “mapia” (good) and straightforward.

However, experiences varied in other locations. 

At Saguiaran Elementary School in neighboring Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur, police personnel ushered voters inside at exactly 7:00 a.m.

Basari Yahiya, 58, expressed disappointment after queueing as early as 5:00 a.m. with hopes of casting his ballot quickly under the priority lane.

Despite isolated delays, the general sentiment remains focused on electoral integrity. 

Speaking outside a polling precinct, a male voter summarized the community’s primary expectation for the first parliamentary polls: “Basta lang fair, walang unfair (As long as it is fair, nothing unfair).” /jpv