Lanao del Sur: Over 720,000 set to ballots in BARMM’s top battleground
DRAWING THE LINE. Soldiers under the command of 1Lt. Nica Aaron cordoned off and prepared a designated voting center in Barangay Sagonsongan, Marawi City, on Sunday, Sept. 13, laying the groundwork for order and security ahead of the polls. —Photo by Cong B. Corrales, Inquirer Mindanao MARAWI CITY, LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines — Some 727,634 voters in Lanao del Sur are eligible to cast ballots across 1,764 clustered precincts as the province—the vote-richest territory in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)—takes center stage at the polls mainly for the elaborate security cover provided by the military and police.
Accounting for 30 percent of the region’s 2.39-million electorate across its 39 municipalities and the capital city of Marawi, Lanao del Sur serves as the premier battleground in determining the outcome of regional representation.
Here in Marawi City alone, 36 voting centers housing 194 clustered precincts have been readied for the influx of voters.
To ensure the orderly conduct of voting, authorities have established a systematic flow at polling places managed by police officers and Army troops, designed to facilitate the smooth entry and movement of voters casting their ballots.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have also deployed additional personnel to reinforce voting centers across the province.
Military officials, however, clarified that soldiers are strictly barred from entering polling places.
“We may only enter when necessary or when called upon by election personnel who need assistance,” an Army soldier, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told the Inquirer.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial election supervisor Mohammad Nabil Mutia confirmed the province’s operational readiness, noting that all 1,764 Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) have undergone final testing and sealing across polling places.
To address the intermittent signal from cellular infrastructure and ensure seamless coordination, the poll body outfitted all voting centers across the province with Starlink satellite connectivity kits backed by reserve power units.
Checkpoints have also been tightened across key transit corridors, with the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade reinforced by the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion and regional police augmentations to maintain peace throughout the balloting process.
Some 21 of the province’s 40 localities are assessed to be at high risk for election-related violence, accounting for most of the 26 security-volatile areas in the region. /cb
