THE National Police (PNP) will deploy 5,000 personnel as authorities intensify efforts to ensure the peaceful and orderly conduct of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections on September 14.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said preparations are 98 percent complete, confident that the efforts to ensure a peaceful election will prevail.
‘Just a very little bit more, it’s just fine-tuning now. We’ll make sure that nothing happens again, but [we are] 98 percent [ready]. All the polling precincts are there, all the contingencies are there,’ Remulla said following a command conference at the Police Regional Office-BARMM.
Remulla went to Camp Brig. Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, to assess preparations for the coming elections. He was joined by the National Police chief, Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. and other key officials.
The DILG chief also called on the Bangsamoro electorate to carefully choose the leaders who will help shape the future of the region.
‘Choose your leader wisely; your future depends on them.’
Remulla said all hands are on deck to ensure that the Bangsamoro electorate can exercise their right to vote in a peaceful and orderly environment. He added that 5,000 police officers and additional personnel will be deployed in the region for the elections.
‘The peace and order situation [is vigilantly attended to]… 5,000 policemen, and additional personnel will be sent here, so we are confident in what will happen here,’ he said.
The BARMM Parliamentary Elections were initially scheduled earlier this year but were postponed due to the lack of time for preparations, as announced by the Commission on Elections in January 2026.
Remulla said the historic elections are also an opportunity to demonstrate to the international community that ‘a Muslim nation can exist in a Christian republic.’
Addressing police officers who will be deployed for the BARMM Parliamentary Elections, Remulla issued a stern reminder that they will be held accountable for maintaining peace and order throughout the electoral exercise.
‘I will hold every police officer here accountable; that if any violence happens in this coming elections, you will be accountable to me and to the Chief PNP. Peace must prevail.’