Comelec to send PNP personnel as contingent poll board members in BARMM

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia during the press briefing at the poll body’s central office in Intramuros Manila, on September 28, 2024. INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is preparing to send Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel as backup electoral board members for the 2025 elections to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

During the sidelines of the mock elections held in Sulu, Garcia said that they will be borrowing PNP personnel from Sulu, which is no longer part of the region, to the BARMM.

“Tatandaan nating ang Sulu ay wala na sa BARMM and therefore ang pinaghahandaan naming areas kung saan mayroon kaming nakahanda na PNP contingents. At itetrain namin itong mga darating na linggo na maglilingkod bilang electoral board members kung kakailanganin ay sa Bangsamoro,” Garcia answered when asked if the poll body will be training PNP personnel as electoral board members.

(Let us remember that Sulu is no longer part of BARMM and therefore, we are preparing for areas where we will ready our PNP contingents. And we will train them in the next coming weeks to serve as electoral board members as needed in Bangsamoro.)

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Garcia said that the armed personnel from Sulu will also be trained for other areas.

“Maaaring kasama ang Basilan at ibang probinsya ng Bangsamoro, more particularly ang Maguindanao,” Garcia added.

(Areas that may be included are Basilan, and other provinces of Bangsamoro, more particularly in Maguindanao.)

He recalled an instance from the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in 2023 when teachers acting as electoral board members backed out from their duty in Cotabato City.

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“Pero sinasabi ko na doon sa mga may balak takutin ang mga guro o wag pagreport-in ang mga guro o kung ano mang kadahilanan, wag kayong mag-alala at mayroon kaming PNP, ginawa na po namin yan sa Cotabato City,” the poll body chief expressed.

(To those who are planning to intimidate the teachers and tell them to not report to their duties for whatever reason, don’t worry because we have the PNP, and we have done that in Cotabato City.)