Basilan Officials, Military Command Unite for Secure BARMM Elections

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The military’s Western Mindanao Command and the multi-sector Basilan Provincial Peace and Order Council are cooperating to support the Commission on Elections' efforts to ensure peaceful and clean Bangsamoro parliamentary polls in the island province on September 14. Basilan, one of the five provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), has 11 towns and two cities, Isabela and Lamitan. These areas were formerly bastions of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front, which have separate peace pacts with the national government. Army Major Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, acting commander of the WestMinCom based in Zamboanga City, and Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman met at the Basilan provincial capitol in Lamitan City. They agreed to jointly support Comelec’s security thrusts for the September 14 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections. Hataman, who also chairs the provincial peace and order council, told Cagara that he and local executives across the province are committed to ensuring credible and safe regional elections and are ready to assist Comelec. The Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the Armed Forces, and Comelec are now fully prepared for the September 14 parliamentary electoral exercise in BARMM. This marks the first parliamentary election since the region was established in 2019, replacing the defunct, less empowered Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Hataman expressed optimism for a peaceful and safe election in Basilan, noting that the province was declared totally cleared of Abu Sayyaf terrorists last year by officials from the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade and the Basilan Provincial Police Office. This declaration followed province-wide inter-agency, multi-sector peacebuilding activities. Hataman assured Cagara of his administration’s full support for the election security agenda of Comelec, WestMinCom, and PRO-BAR for the September 14 polls. The Army’s 10th and 4th Infantry Divisions, based in Mawab, Davao de Oro and Cagayan de Oro City respectively, have dispatched large contingents to BARMM in recent weeks to help secure polling sites. Cagara thanked Hataman and the local executives for their commitment to advancing the election security agenda of Comelec, WestMinCom, and the Philippine National Police. Police Regional Office 9, headquartered in Zamboanga City, deployed hundreds of personnel to Basilan on Monday to augment police units in the province as they gear up for election duties.