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GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – More than 2,000 police officers would serve in polling precincts in case of peace and order problems during the October barangay and youth elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Brigadier General Allan Nobleza, Philippine National Police-BARMM director, said each Bangsamoro province and city would have at least 300 police officers who would be trained to serve as election precinct workers in case a breakdown in the peace and order prevents public school teachers from serving in the polling places on election day.
Nobleza said the police officers would be part of government forces that have started beefing up security throughout the BARMM starting on Monday, August 28.
The election period leading to the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections started on Monday. It will last until November 29, a period where a nationwide gun ban takes effect.
Nobleza said about 2,100 election precinct work-trained police officers will form quick reaction teams in places tagged as areas of “grave concern,” “immediate concern,” and “security concern.”
On Friday, August 25, Nobleza said contingency measures in the BARMM, including the deployment of police officers trained to do election work, have long been part of the worst scenario planning.
The PNP-BARMM has also stepped up checkpoint security across the predominantly Muslim region, especially in critical locations.
Nobleza earlier asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to consider postponing the elections in the BARMM by at least two weeks due to concerns about election-related violence. A postponement, he said, would allow government forces to focus on BARMM.
Comelec-BARMM director Ray Sumalipao said the elections would push through.
“In our meeting last month, the police mentioned about recommending a postponement but no actions were put into it,” Sumalipao said.
He said the Comelec will have a meeting with the BARMM’s security sector on August 31.
“Let’s see what happens during that meeting,” Sumalipao said. – Rappler.com
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