Marcos tells troops to ensure peaceful BARMM polls

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has ordered military troops in Sulu to ensure that the first ever parliamentary elections for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) would be peaceful as he reminded them to remain vigilant despite the reduced threat posed by terrorist groups.

During his visit to the Army’s 11th Infantry Division in Jolo, Marcos said the BARMM parliamentary polls should not be disrupted by political violence and terrorism.

“We need to have a peaceful election...That is very important because we need to ensure that the members of the parliament are elected the right way,” the President said in Filipino.

“No terrorism, no political violence. We have to minimize all of them,” he added.

The parliamentary elections for BARMM will coincide with the midterm legislative polls on May 12, 2025.

The BARMM was formed through the Bangsamoro Organic Law, an outcome of the 2014 peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao created in 1989. Sulu is one of the provinces under BARMM, along with Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi.

Marcos said an orderly implementation of the election would lead to smooth governance in the region.

“Let us not sit on our laurels. Let us not become complacent because these are challenges that we will have to manage,” he added.

Not yet over

Marcos also commended the armed forces for minimizing the threat posed by the Abu Sayyaf and other threat groups but maintained that their mission is not yet complete.

“I have to congratulate all of you who have worked to achieve this success, who have worked very hard and have made many sacrifices so that we can now say that the capabilities of the main threat, which is the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group), have been severely reduced,” Marcos, also the commander-in-chief of the military, said.

“Now, that does not mean that the mission is over. As you can imagine, there might be people who wish to enter to organize again so we still need to be vigilant,” he added.

Military officials in Sulu briefed Marcos about the “very constant drop” in the insurgents’ capabilities, manpower and number of firearms.

They also told the President that the threat posed by other terrorist groups is diminishing.

“The assessment is the threat is only from individual actors. They no longer have moving units. They are... basically (neutralized)... We have dismantled their machinery for causing, for bringing terror,” the President said.

“We also spoke briefly about the continuing threat of outside terrorist groups coming in, the al-Qaeda inspired, ISIS-inspired who used to come here. It seems that we are no longer threatened that much over these kinds (of groups),” he added.

Marcos reiterated that peace in Mindanao is a priority of the government.

“That is all in the interest of peace. We do this because we want peace to continue in this area, in the Southern Philippines. We do not want to see the kind of fighting that we saw many decades ago,” the Chief Executive said.

External defense

Marcos’ message to the troops in Sulu was not limited to domestic security issues. He also mentioned the Armed Forces’ shift to external defense in the face of emerging regional threats, particularly in the West Philippine Sea, the area in the South China Sea that is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

China continues to assert its claim over virtually the entire South China Sea even if such claims have been voided by an international arbitral court in 2016.

According to Marcos, the government undertook organizational change, citing the creation of a task force that seeks to boost the Philippine Coast Guard’s presence and to police the area.

“This is what we will do so we will be more secure, especially in your area because I am sure that there are many, many instances when there will be reports about ships passing by,” he said.

“So, we just have to keep vigilant and to continue to watch what is going on and to make sure that we are able to monitor all developments.”