Comelec, IBP, Monitoring Group Unite for Clean BARMM Polls

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), and a regional peace-advocacy entity have agreed to cooperate in ensuring peaceful and clean parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on September 14. The agreement aims to strengthen collaboration for credible and safe elections. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia, IBP national president lawyer Allan Panolong, and Benedicto Bacani, director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) and lead convenor of the Independent Election Monitoring Center-BARMM (IEMC-BARMM), signed a memorandum of agreement on Friday, September 11, in Cotabato City. Garcia expressed appreciation for the support from various organizations and peacebuilding groups for election security initiatives. Bacani and Panolong separately stated their commitment to assist Comelec in consolidating election monitoring reports and documenting possible undue election-related incidents for judicial proceedings. They also acknowledged the media's role in educating voters about the intricacies and ramifications of the BARMM parliamentary polls, which differ from regular synchronized national elections. Garcia assured reporters that security preparations were in place, noting that certain areas in the Bangsamoro region, which have experienced election-related violence in the past, are now heavily guarded by units of the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police. Over 20 units from the Army’s 1st, 4th, and 10th Infantry Divisions have been deployed across various BARMM areas, including far-flung barangays in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte provinces and the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area. Additionally, up to 4,000 police personnel from different southern administrative regions have been assigned to BARMM municipalities to help secure polling sites on Monday. Officials from the Comelec regional office in BARMM reported that the commander of the 10th Infantry Division had dispatched additional troops to augment personnel from the 6th and 11th Infantry Divisions who will secure polling sites. The 6th ID oversees provinces with significant Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) presence, where the MILF's political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), has nominated candidates for parliamentary seats. The deployed troops have been instructed to do their utmost in maintaining peace around polling precincts under Comelec's guidance. Information Source: Philstar Nation