No ballots with English questions were printed. Voters in the existing ARMM had to answer one question:  In Filipino:  In Arabic:  English translation:  Voters in Basilan were asked whether they wanted to include the city of Isabela in the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in addition to the question above regarding their stance on the ratification of the BOL. The question was presented as follows:  In Filipino:  In Arabic:  English Translation:  Voters in the cities of Isabela and Cotabato were asked one question: whether or not they were in favor of their locality's inclusion in the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. The Comelec held a simulation of the plebiscite on October 23, 2018 at its main office in Intramuros, Manila. Ballot printing started on December 7, 2018 and lasted for three days. Around 2.8 million ballots were printed. The plebiscite was originally planned to be held at a single date on January 21, 2019. However the Comelec announced on December 7, 2018 that the plebiscite would be held in two separate days instead; on January 21 and February 6, 2019. The election body reasoned that the move was to allow the resolution of pending petitions for voluntary inclusion of additional local government units in the plebiscite. Voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao including Cotabato City and Isabela City in Basilan would take part in the January 21 vote while the rest of the named participating localities in the BOL as well as additional localities which successfully petitioned for their inclusion would take part in the February 6 vote. For both dates, the Comelec had allotted eight hours of voting. Voting was set to start at 8:00 a.m. (UTC+8) and close at 3:00 p.m. Voters within of the polling area would still be allowed to vote past 3:00 p.m. Voting was to be done manually with the ballot containing questions answerable by "yes" or "no" in English or its equivalent in Filipino or any other indigenous Philippine languages. Answers made with any other mark such as a check, a cross, or a thumb mark were not accepted as valid. At least 25 international observers were permitted to oversee the plebiscite in order to establish credibility of the plebiscite. A few restrictions and regulations were to be imposed such as the requirement for the observer to identify themselves to election authorities at the site and for them to provide copies of their report to the government.