Lt. Col. Eugene Flores, commanding officer of the Army’s 4th Mechanized Infantry “Kalasag” Battalion, inspects an armored tank in preparation for the first BARMM parliamentary elections on Sept. 14. Photo by Richel V. Umel.
ILIGAN CITY — The Philippine Army has intensified security measures with a week to go before the historic parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Sept. 14.
Lt. Col. Eugene Flores, commanding officer of the Army’s 4th Mechanized Infantry Kalasag Battalion, said the battalion conducted briefings, rehearsals, and coordination meetings with government agencies involved in the Bangsamoro polls.
“We also reviewed our personnel accountability, communications, mobility, equipment serviceability, and contingency preparedness,” Flores told the Inquirer on Sunday.
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He noted that their preparation is focused on three major areas: personnel readiness, operational readiness, and coordination.
READ: Watchdog: Political tensions, violence cast shadow over BARMM polls
“We make sure that our troops are properly briefed, trained, and oriented on their roles, particularly on maintaining peace and security while observing strict political neutrality,” Flores said.
“We will perform our mission with discipline and impartiality, with utmost respect for the democratic process. Our commitment is to help ensure that every qualified Bangsamoro voter can exercise his or her right to vote in a safe and peaceful manner,” he added.
Flores also said their battalion will be augmented by troops from the 3rd Special Forces under the 4th Infantry Diamond Division and the Division Reconnaissance Company from the 1st Infantry Tabak to help secure the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro region.
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He said that an Election Monitoring Action Center will be established starting Sept. 11 at the 103rd Infantry Haribon Brigade headquarters here, which will be composed of joint quick reaction teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Flores said government checkpoints have been put in place in strategic areas of Marawi as part of the security measures for the elections. /mcm
