Photo by Daryll Galindo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) sent off 50 of its police personnel on Wednesday morning, April 30, to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in preparation for the upcoming National and Local Elections on May 12.
The 50 volunteer policemen and policewomen, all trained by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), will serve as members of the Special Electoral Board for the upcoming polls in BARMM. Their primary responsibility is to help ensure that the elections in the Bangsamoro region are conducted smoothly.
The send-off ceremony was held at the PRO-7 headquarters, Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. in Cebu City, and was led by PRO-7’s Regional Director, Police Brigadier General Rederico Maranan.
“Heroes of Region VII,” Gen. Maranan called the 50 police volunteers departing for BARMM. “Today, in front of us, are our personnel who will go to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to do a very special job — to ensure the national and local elections there are honest, secure, accurate, and acceptable to all.”
Earlier this year, the COMELEC announced that it was preparing personnel to serve as backup electoral board members for the 2025 elections.
According to Gen. Maranan, the Philippine National Police (PNP) regularly responds to such duties. He noted that the PNP has been deploying personnel across the Philippines and even to international missions under the United Nations when called upon.
“This kind of endeavor is not new to the Philippine National Police,” Gen. Maranan said during his send-off speech. “We’ve been sending personnel across the Philippines — to different parts of the archipelago — and to other parts of the world as well.”
While the 50-member PRO-7 contingent remains in BARMM, the rest of the PRO-7 personnel will continue to fulfill their duties during the election season.
“The more than 9,000 personnel of PRO-7 will also be doing our job here — and that is to keep the national and local elections in Region VII safe, honest, orderly, and peaceful,” Gen. Maranan said.