COTABATO CITY โ Ahead of the 2025 polls, the Philippine Army has deployed a rapid deployment team of elite soldiers to Basilan in a bid to tighten security in the island province once notorious for insurgent threats.
Around 100 troops from the 113th Division Reconnaissance Company (DRC), trained in ranger-style combat, arrived in Basilan on Sunday, April 20, to reinforce election-related security operations led by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Brigadier General Alvin Luzon, commander of the Armyโs 101st Infantry Brigade, said the troops are under the 11th Infantry Division based in neighboring Suluโanother province under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
โThis deployment is part of a larger security plan by the Western Mindanao Command and Joint Task Force Orion to ensure peaceful and orderly elections in May 2025,โ Luzon said in a press briefing on Monday, April 21.
Luzon personally welcomed the unit during arrival honors held at the 14th Special Forces Company headquarters in Lamitan City. The move comes as part of heightened coordination between the military and police in the region.
Brigadier General Romeo Juan Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-BARMM, said the presence of the 113th DRC complements their ongoing joint security efforts with the Army.
โThis collaboration augurs well for our shared goal of securing the elections and sustaining peace in Basilan,โ Macapaz said.
Local support, historical context
Local officials welcomed the deployment, stressing that it was a preventive measure rather than a response to any active threats.
โWeโve long moved past the dark years of insurgency. Basilan is now peaceful and free of Abu Sayyaf. Still, we cannot be complacent,โ said Basilan Governor Hadjiman Salliman, chair of the Basilan Provincial Peace and Order Council.
Lamitan City Mayor Rhoderick Furigay also expressed support for the deployment, calling it a โnecessary step to maintain stability during the election season.โ
While Basilan has undergone dramatic security gains in recent years, it was once considered a hotbed of Abu Sayyaf activity. Peace and development efforts in the province remain fragile, especially during high-stakes political events like elections.
Security planning ahead of polls
Luzon, along with Western Mindanao Command chief Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete and Joint Task Force Orion head Major General Leonardo Peรฑa, led a security briefing in Isabela City on April 19.
The dialogue gathered Army commanders, local government officials, and representatives of religious and traditional sectors to assess risks and map out preventive strategies.
Nafarrete said part of the strategy involves close coordination with local leaders to counter potential threats.
โWeโre engaging key stakeholders โ Muslim and Christian leaders, elders, and local executives โ to build trust and strengthen cooperation ahead of the polls,โ Nafarrete said.
Peรฑa, who exercises operational control over the 101st Infantry Brigade, said it was also critical to study past elections in Basilan and address recurring issues, from vote buying to potential election-related violence.
โHistory gives us clues. Weโre using that data to anticipate risks and put safeguards in place,โ Peรฑa said.
With just over a year before the May 2025 national and local polls, military and police leaders in the Bangsamoro region are ramping up efforts to keep the peaceโparticularly in former conflict zones like Basilan, where stability remains a hard-won prize.
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