Security measures in place for BARMM plebiscite

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, Philippines — Teams of police and soldiers will be deployed in 63 villages in Cotabato province to ensure a peaceful and orderly plebiscite in April on the creation of new towns that will form part of the Bangsamoro region.

The deployment is part of the security plan drawn up by police and military officials to ensure the peaceful conduct of the April 13 plebiscite for the creation of eight towns in Cotabato province that are now part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), currently referred to collectively as its Special Geographic Area (SGA).

Commission on Elections Chair George Erwin Garcia and Commissioner Aimee Ferolino met this week with the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, headed by Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera; the Soccsksargen police under Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg; and BARMM police led by Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, to coordinate the security preparation.

“We have ample forces on the ground in SGA and we can deploy augmentation forces, if necessary,” said Lt. Gen. William Gonzales, chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command.

READ: Comelec gearing up for peaceful, orderly BARMM plebiscite

Many of the SGA villages are rocked by violence, largely triggered by disputes over land ownership. Several violent incidents were also recorded there in the run-up to the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Oct. 30 last year.

Garcia said voters in the 63 villages failed to vote for local candidates in the May 2022 elections.

“At that time, they were no longer part of Cotabato province and now part of BARMM but there were no municipalities to speak of,” Garcia said.

If the “yes” vote wins in the plebiscite, the SGA registered voters can vote for the town mayor and members of the municipal council in the 2025 midterm polls, he said.