BARMM elections: How voters will navigate polling hubs in Lanao del Sur

1Lt. Nica Aaron of the 2nd CMO Company, 1st CMO Battalion, briefs the Inquirer on the flow of the election process in Barangay Sagonsongan, Marawi City, for the BARMM parliamentary polls on Monday, Sept. 14. Screengrab from video by Divina M. Suson, Inquirer Mindanao MARAWI CITY — Security forces and local authorities are enforcing strict one-way cordons and designated holding areas across Lanao del Sur to prevent congestion and maintain order and safety as voters head to the polls on Monday.

1st Lieutenant Nica Aaron of the 2nd Civil-Military Operations (CMO) Company, 1st CMO Battalion, outlined to the Inquirer the operational flow established for the voting center in Barangay Sagonsongan here.

Under the setup, voters will queue outside, where military personnel and Philippine National Police (PNP) units guide lines and monitor movement. From the exterior entrance, temporary cordons and guide railings direct voters in single file into a central holding area.

Entrance: Enter through the left side, guided by temporary railings and cordons.

Holding area: Proceed to the central holding area, which can accommodate up to 100 voters at a time. A separate tent outside, in front of the covered court, accommodates waiting voters, prioritizing senior citizens, pregnant women and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Precinct entry: To prevent crowding, only 10 voters from each barangay—Sagonsongan, Gadongan and Dansalan—are admitted into the voting precinct at any given time.

Exit: After casting your ballot, proceed along the right side of the temporary railing to the designated exit without crossing paths with incoming voters.

Aaron emphasized that establishing defined entrance-to-exit channels ensures a smooth casting of ballots, removes bottlenecks and prevents chaos.

Similar movement controls have been instituted nearby at Camalig Elementary School in Marantao, Lanao del Sur.

The school serves as the voting center for five barangays across 11 designated classrooms, each equipped with one vote-counting machine (VCM).

Soldiers from the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion have been stationed inside the school grounds to guard the VCMs.

In the 2022 elections, poll organizers relied on improvised bamboo poles to form an access alley into the Camalig school.

For this election, the Marantao municipal government replaced the bamboo poles with permanent steel railings to reinforce security and maintain tighter crowd control. /mcm