Region 11 soldiers to secure BARMM polls

Soldiers from the 28th Infantry Battalion of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division are set to be deployed in various municipalities within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as part of the security preparations for the region’s first-ever parliamentary elections on September 14. Major Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of the 10th ID, stated that the 28th IB will support the joint election security missions of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in certain areas of the autonomous region. These operations will be conducted under the guidance of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The headquarters of the 10th ID, which falls under the Eastern Mindanao Command, is located in Mawab town, Davao de Oro. The 6th ID, under the Western Mindanao Command, covers eight municipalities in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province, as well as the nearby Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte provinces within BARMM. BARMM comprises the provinces of Maguindanao de Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, along with the cities of Lamitan, Marawi, and Cotabato, where its regional capitol is situated. Luzon and the 6th ID’s commander, Major Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, will collaborate in overseeing the election security operations of the 28th IB, which is currently temporarily based in Sitio Estremos, Barangay Poblacion, Magpet town in Cotabato. Units from the 6th ID’s 601st and 602nd Infantry Brigades, stationed in specific towns in Cotabato and parts of Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte respectively, will be at the forefront of Comelec’s election peacekeeping activities in these three provinces on September 14. Personnel from three battalions under the Navy’s 1st Marine Brigade, headquartered in Barira town, will be responsible for securing parts of Maguindanao del Norte and 37 barangays in Cotabato City during the elections.