Officials forge May 14 election security compact covering ARMM

MAGUINDANAO --- Officials forged on Thursday an election security compact focused on measures meant to ensure orderly elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on May 14.The three-page interim security plan was signed by Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega of the Army’s 6thInfantry Division, Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares of the Police Regional Office-ARMM and lawyer Ray Sumalipao of the Commission on Elections.Sumalipao is Comelec’s director for ARMM, which covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and the hostile Sulu province, a bastion of the Abu Sayyaf terror group, where political warlords ruling with impunity are known for meddling with the supposedly non-partisan barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.The plan, crafted in the Army’s Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao Thursday afternoon, aligned the election security preparations of the 6thID, the PRO-ARMM and Comelec’s office in the autonomous region.Mijares said the security accord implies cooperation in addressing threats from terrorists and other criminal gangs during the May 14 barangay and SK polls in the autonomous region and until the election period is over.It is also focused on setting up starting Saturday of joint election security control centers in the ARMM provinces, he said.Dela Vega said the security plan is attuned to the peace and security goals of the Mindanao-wide martial that President Rodrigo Duterte declared on May 23, 2017 after combined Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists laid siege to Marawi City, sparking hostilities that lasted for five months and left many Maranao enclaves there in ruins. This martial law is not dictatorial and ruthless. It is a martial guided by human rights principles and intended only to ensure peace in some areas in Mindanao, as protection from terrorism and, in the case of the barangay and SK elections, ward off saboteurs. Election sabotage is an attack on the Constitution, Dela Vega said.Mijares said about half of the 2,490 barangays in the autonomous region are being monitored closely by the provincial police commands under his tactical control. But that does not imply there will be trouble in these barangays on May 14. Some have big clans that pitted candidates for barangay chairman, causing tension. These clans know well we are under martial law and are aware of what could happen to them if they violate Comelec regulations, Mijares said.Mijares and Dela Vega both said all units under them are also guarding against possible movements of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters,the Abu Sayyaf and the Maute terror groups on May 14.Dela Vega said the 6thID and military units in other ARMM provinces and the PRO-ARMM are bound by the security plan to intensify the government’s campaign against loose firearms and carrying of guns during the election period. More joint security checkpoints will be visible shortly before May 14 and after the elections are over, Dela Vega said.Local officials and peace advocacy groups in Sulu have urged the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City to tighten security in the province to forestall possible troubles that may arise on May 14.Sulu, touted as the most dangerous province in the country, has high prevalence of bloody vendetta clan feuds involving big families locked in deadly territorial disputes.Mijares said they have enough men to secure polling sites in Sulu and other areas in ARMM that are beset with election-related security issues.