Nearly 9,000 cops to secure BARMM polls

Around 9,000 cops will be deployed to secure the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections scheduled on September 14, according to the regional police office.

“For the PNP, we are looking at close to 9,000 'yung we will be deploying,” Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR) chief Police Brigadier General Jaysen de Guzman said in an ambush interview Tuesday evening.

De Guzman made the statement following a meeting with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in preparation for the Bangsamoro as well as the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.

“We propose na ang augmentation will be coming only from regions in Mindanao like Region 9, 10, 13, 11, and 12. And also with our special units like the [Special Action Force], the Maritime Group, [Highway Patrol Group], they will be utilized as well,” De Guzman said.

“At wala pa doon 'yung ating [Armed Forces of the Philippines] units na kung saan they will also be deploying their forces and to include the [Philippine Coast Guard],” he added.

(And our Armed Forces of the Philippines units are not yet included there, where they will also be deploying their forces and to include the Philippine Coast Guard.)

Augmentation from the AFP and PCG is around 2,000 to 3,000, according to De Guzman.

He noted that one of the key challenges for the upcoming polls is the evolving political landscape in BARMM, including redistricting, and the ongoing processing of party and candidate accreditations by the Comelec. 

Due to this, De Guzma said it is more difficult to finalize security assessments and deployment plans now.

He noted that the number of political parties have also increased from eight to 16, pending final validation by the poll body.

Security officials also said threat monitoring remains in place, particularly against local rebel groups operating in some areas in Mindanao. 

Previous assessments had placed Tawi-Tawi as the only “red category” area due to past security incidents, while most other areas were classified as orange, yellow and green.

Yellow areas have reported suspected election-related incidents in the past two polls, provided there was no participation of domestic terror groups. The areas should also be previously declared under Comelec control and reported the possible presence of armed groups, and intense political rivalries.

Orange areas should have the combination of two or more factors under the yellow category; and should have serious armed threats posed by terror and threat groups.

Red areas meet the parameters for yellow and have serious threats posed by terror and threat groups. Security forces will focus on monitoring these areas with the possibility for violence and intense political fights among local candidates.

Authorities assured the public that security forces will remain apolitical throughout the electoral process.

The Comelec earlier this month released the calendar of activities for the 2026 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.

The election period will run from July 16 to September 29, 2026, while the campaign period will start from July 30 to September 12, 2026. 

Election Day is on Monday, September 14.

READ: LIST: Important dates for 2026 BARMM elex

—KG, GMA News