BARMM deploys thousands of security forces as governors, police, and military brace for the region’s first parliamentary elections on September 14. (John Unson)
COTABATO CITY, Philippines โ Thousands of police officers are being mobilized across the Bangsamoro region as authorities brace for a potentially tense election day in areas already identified as hotspots.
With the clock ticking toward September 14, officials are scrambling to reinforce security at polling stations across the sprawling autonomous region โ in what will be its first-ever parliamentary election since BARMM was created in 2019.
Five provincial governors and senior regional officials have now pledged to stand behind the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the police, and the military as they prepare for the high-stakes vote.
Their promises came during a tense, multi-sector security meeting on Wednesday at the Police Regional Office-BARMM headquarters at Camp SK Pendatun in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia was joined by senior election officials, military commanders, police chiefs and representatives of rival political parties.
Officials from police regional offices covering Regions 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 also attended โ highlighting the enormous security operation being mounted across Mindanao.
‘We need 5,000 more’
The scale of the challenge was laid bare by Police Brig. Gen. Christopher Abecia, director of PRO-BAR.
His force has about 4,000 organic personnel available for election duties. But Abecia said they need at least another 5,000 police officers and policewomen to properly secure polling places across BARMM’s five provinces and three cities.
Reinforcements will have to be brought in from police commands elsewhere in Mindanao.
โThe regional police offices in other Mindanao regions will help us address that by providing us with personnel support, under the guidance of our national headquarters,โ Abecia said.
The large-scale deployment comes as authorities prepare for voting in areas where political rivalries and security concerns could threaten a peaceful election.
Military and police commanders nevertheless insisted they are ready.
Among those at the meeting were Philippine Army commander Lt. Gen. Donald Gumiran and Western Mindanao Command chief Army Maj. Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara.
Governors pledge to keep the peace
The five BARMM governors attending the meeting โ Maguindanao del Norte’s Tucao Mastura, Maguindanao del Sur’s Ali Midtimbang, Lanao del Sur’s Mamintal Adiong Jr., Tawi-Tawi’s Ysmael Ali and Basilan’s Mujiv Hataman โ all pledged cooperation.
They are senior members of the BARMM Regional Peace and Order Council, chaired by Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulrauf A. Macacua. The chief minister also assured Garcia that the regional government would support the joint security operation.
The stakes are particularly high for Lanao del Sur.
Adiong, who also chairs his provincial peace and order council, said his political organization would help protect polling stations despite the intense competition between rival groups. His Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo, includes more than 30 of the province’s 39 mayors.
And Adiong offered a strikingly blunt assessment of the political landscape.
โWe can do that easily because our party is not an enemy of all the regional parties participating in this electoral exercise,โ he said.
Candidates vow before Qur’an and Bible
Another political bloc has gone further, promising to make a solemn commitment to obey the rules.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, an incumbent member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament and chairman of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party in Cotabato City, said Muslim candidates were prepared to swear on the Qur’an, while Christian candidates would swear on the Bible, to follow election laws.
โWe shall do our best to help make the elections peaceful and free from anomalies,โ Sinarimbo said.
MNLF issues warning to would-be saboteurs
The Moro National Liberation Front has also pledged to help keep troublemakers away from polling places.
Muslimin Sema, BARMM labor and employment minister and chairman of the Bangsamoro Party of the MNLF, said the organization would help prevent potential saboteurs from getting near polling stations in areas regarded as MNLF strongholds.
Sema said the commitment was rooted in the MNLF’s 1996 peace agreement with the national government.
โOur final peace agreement with the national government, the September 2, 1996 government-MNLF compact, compels us, MNLF members, to help secure the conduct of any state activity in our turf,โ Sema said.
A huge test for the Bangsamoro
Now, with September 14 rapidly approaching, thousands of security personnel are expected to fan out across the region.
The operation will cover five provinces and three cities, with police, soldiers, and election officials working together to secure polling locations.
The vote represents far more than another election. It is a test of the region’s ability to hold a peaceful democratic exercise after decades of armed conflict โ and a crucial moment for the young autonomous government.
About The Author
