Photo screengrabbed from RTVM
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel to guarantee a peaceful election for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The BARMM Parliament elections, which is the first in the region, will be held with the 2025 national and local elections.
“We need to have peaceful elections in the upcoming voting season,” Marcos said on Friday.
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“This is important because we need to say that these members of the parliament were elected lawfully,” he added.
The chief executive made the statement in his visit to Camp Teodulfo Bautista in Jolo, Sulu.
Marcos said that a good election will translate to a good government operation in the region, as well as in the promotion of peace.
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“We know that a good election is important, which will result in good governance in the BARMM after the elections,” he said.
“That is all in the interest of peace. We do this because we want peace to continue in this area, in the Southern Philippines. We do not want to see the kind of fighting that we saw many decades ago,” he added.
In addition, Marcos also advised of threats that may be posed by insurgent groups in the area.
“Now, that does not mean that the mission is over. As you can imagine, there are still those that may still organize (terror) again that we need to be on guard against these,” the President said.
“So, we just have to keep vigilant and to continue to watch what is going on and to make sure that everything happens is monitored,” he added.