Davao police to deploy 400 personnel for BARMM's first parliamentary election

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 July 2026) — The Police Regional Office (PRO) XI has committed to deploy 400 police personnel to augment security for the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on September 14. “The policemen in Davao Region are ready to be deployed in BARMM for the security in the upcoming BARMM elections,” Maj. Catherine Dela Rey, PRO XI spokesperson, said during the Davao Peace and Security Press conference on Thursday. The BARMM comprises the mainland provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur and Lanao del Sur and the cities of Cotabato and Marawi, and the island provinces of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, the city of Lamitan and the Special Geographic Area in what used to be parts of North Cotabato. Dela Rey added that the 400 personnel will be coming from the PRO headquarters, provincial, city police offices and the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB). She said the decision to pull out officers from the different parts of the region and not from a single unit is to avoid jeopardizing regular law enforcement activities. PRO XI has dispatched personnel from the region to BARMM in previous elections. The police personnel are augmentation, and may be increased “depending on the situation,” she said. The Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division based in Mawab, Davao de Oro has also vowed to deploy a battalion of personnel for the BARMM elections, with the figure to be disclosed once deployed on the election. Maj. Ruben Gadut, chief of the Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO), estimated that the battalion will be composed of three companies, which is estimated to be also at around 400. He said they have recently completed their evaluation and certification program and he is confident that they will “perform beyond expectation.” He said the date of deployment is not made public for security purposes. On July 14, at the send-off ceremony for personnel who will serve in the parliamentary polls, Brig. General Chistopher Demecia, Police Regional Office-BAR (PRO-BAR) director, said they had mapped out 93 election areas of concern across the region during the joint meeting with the Bangsamoro Electoral Office. Demecia said these areas were determined based on security incidents during the last two elections (2022 and 2025), alongside the verified presence of active armed groups. He said police regional commands from Regions IX (Zamboanga region), X (Northern Mindanao), XI (Davao region) and XII (Soccsksagen) are each sending 500 police officers, providing a combined force of 2,000 personnel. National Support Units of around 1,300 specialized troops will join the effort, including forces from the PNP Special Action Force, the Maritime Group, and the Highway Patrol Group. Demcia said 8,300 PNP troops will be actively deployed across the region on election day. This total is expected to increase further once joint military augmentations from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) are integrated into the final deployment plan. “There is no turning back. We will proceed with the elections,” Atty. Ray Sumalipao, director of the Bangsmoro Electoral Office, said at the send-off ceremonies. Sumalipao pointed out that while petitions to block the election were filed with the Supreme Court, the high court’s decision not to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) serves as a green light to proceed. A gun ban has been imposed since July 16, the start of the election period. The 45-day campaign period begins on July 30. (Razl EJ Teman with a report by Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)