MANILA -- The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Sunday said several members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be stepping up as election inspectors for Monday’s Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections.
This, as more than 800 teachers have signified their intention not to serve as election officials in the historic polls.
“Kanina inannounce natin sa presscon na 839 na guro sa Bangsamoro (ang hindi sasali),” said COMELEC chairman George Garcia in an interview on DZMM Teleradyo.
There were various reasons for the withdrawal, he said.
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“May iba’t ibang kadahilanan po yan. ‘Yung ilan, iba ang kanilang lugar sa gusto nilang maassign, ayaw naman po natin ng ganoon. Kinakailangan kung saan sila nararapat maassign dapat doon lamang. Dahil po dyan ‘yung iba umayaw. 'Yung iba naman may relasyon, kamag anak sa doon tumatakbo… therefore para hindi mabahiran sila rin mismo ay disqualified, sila mismo nagboluntayo na hindi magrereport at iba pag kadahilanan,” he said.
“Ang importante may nakahanda tayong nakahalinhin o pampalit sa mga miyembro ng electoral board kung sakaling hindi makakalingkod.”
Aside from back up teachers serving as election board inspectors, Garcia said they have trained 2,000 PNP personnel for contingency.
“‘Yun pong mga PNP personnel, 2000 pong lahat yan ang natrain ng COMELEC at nabigyan ng DOST certification, na nakadeploy sa buong Bangsamoro upang kung may ganyang pagkakataon ay magagamit po sila (bilang pamalit),” he said.
“’Yan po ay nagsimula kahapon, parte ng final testing na ginawa natin kahapon sapagkat ‘yung mga hindi nagreport na mga guro, automatically pinapalitan po agad sila ng mga PNP personnel kasi inaasahan na natin yung mga guro na ‘yan hindi po makakapaglingkod sa Lunes.”
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Meanwhile, Garcia said there are 27 areas in Bangsamoro that are considered under “red category.”
These areas, he said, are not considered as “election hotspots.”
“Ang tawag diyan mga red category and yes, 27 po iyan. Hindi dahil sa may violence o kaguluhan, ito po ay red category areas upang mas mataas na antas ng alerto at presensya ng ating PNP at AFP,” he said.
“Kaya [considered] na red category dahil sa mga nakaraang halalan, may mga pangyayari na nakagambala ng katahimikan. Therefore, ngayon mapigilan natin ‘yung mga maaring mangyari na tulad ng nakakaraan.”
So far, Garcia said the Bangsamoro region has been relatively peaceful ahead of Monday’s eelctions.
“Hanggang sa kasalukuyan napakatahimik dito ngayon sa Bangsamoro. Sa kasalukuyan kami po ay nasa Cotabato City at tahimik na tahimik ngayon,” he said.