COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Members of the Army’s 28th Infantry Battalion are bound for deployment to towns in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as part of the security preparations for the first BARMM parliamentary election on Sept. 14.
Maj. Gen. Alvin Luzon, 10th Infantry Division commander, said the 28th IB would be deployed to support the joint election security missions of the Philippine National Police and the Army’s 6th ID.
“They shall operate under the guidance of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the 6th ID,” Luzon said.
The 6th ID, which is under the Western Mindanao Command, operates in the eight towns of the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in Cotabato as well as Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte.
Maj. Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, 6th ID commander, said the 28th IB would be temporarily based in Magpet, Cotabato while waiting for directions from the Comelec.
The Navy is also set to deploy its 1st Marine Brigade to secure parts of Maguindanao del Norte and 37 barangays in Cotabato City.
Earlier, the Comelec tagged 27 areas in BARMM under the “red” category, which indicates serious threats posed by communist rebels and other threat groups to a particular location.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the 27 areas were classified based on their history of election-related violence in previous polls.
Another 27 other areas were placed under the “orange” category, indicating possible election-related disturbances.
BARMM covers the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi as well as the cities of Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato.