Police: First day BARMM polls campaign 'manageable,' no incidents so far

The first day of the campaign period for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections has been manageable as no incidents have been reported so far, according to the regional police Thursday.

“Negative pa po as of now sa election-related incident. So far, manageable naman po ang situation,” Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PROBAR) spokesperson Police Lieutenant Colonel Jopy Ventura told GMA News Online in a message. 

(Election-related incidents are still negative as of now. So far, the situation is manageable.)

Comelec chairperson George Garcia previously warned against vote-buying.

“We will not hesitate to disqualify candidates katulad nang pinatunayan na namin. Hindi rin kami magdadalawang isip na file-an sila na mga kasong kriminal,” Garcia said.

(We will not hesitate to disqualify candidates like we previously did. We will not think twice to file criminal cases against them.)

Philippine National Police (PNP) acting chief Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. on Wednesday said 16,000 more personnel are designated to secure the BARMM polls in addition to the local forces on the ground.

He said they have been working with the Directorate for Intelligence to identify possible threats, including communist groups, local threat groups, private armed groups, and criminal gangs that may disrupt the polls.

“These threats have long been part of the election landscape, but our regional police office has already accounted for them, studied past incidents, and identified personalities and groups that may pose risks,” Nartatez said.

“With this data and careful planning, we are confident of securing the elections,” he added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News