Many groups expressed good wishes for a successful plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) yesterday as Filipinos in the Mindanao areas concerned went out to vote. Some sectors even went further to forecast enduring peace in Mindanao.

Realistically, however, it is wise to recognize that our peace, security and political problems in Mindanao cannot be resolved in one or two days of balloting. Up ahead is the labor of building strong state institutions in the autonomous region.