MANILA, Philippines - Police said Wednesday that unidentified men burglarized the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office at the highly-guarded Maguindanao provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak town.

Senior Superintendent Alex Lineses, Maguindanao provincial police chief, said that the burglary could have taken place Tuesday night. He said the burglars entered the Comelec provincial office through its jalousie windows.

Lineses, meanwhile, admitted that they are puzzled by the burglary. He said it seemed impossible to enter the Comelec office because the whole provincial capitol is littered with police and military guards.

He said investigators have yet to determine what items were stolen from the Comelec provincial office.

Gregorio Larrazabal, chairman of the Comelec's automation steering committee, meanwhile, said that there were no documents missing after the burglary and that the office was just vandalized.

"It was also vandalized, but no records or documents were taken," Larrazabal told reporters at the Comelec's main office in Manila.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed Maguindanao under a state of martial law after members of the powerful political clan of the Ampatuans, her allies in the province, were implicated in the massacre of 57 people last November 23.

Prior to the declaration, Mrs. Arroyo also placed the whole province under a state of emergency. The martial law proclamation has been lifted. With a report from Noel Alamar, radio dzMM and Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News