The stability of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is the government’s primary concern for the upcoming 2025 elections, according to National Security Adviser (NSA) Secretary Eduardo Año.
With the region set to hold its first parliamentary elections, Año highlighted the need for increased security measures to ensure a peaceful and orderly process.
“Our main concern for the next election is the BARMM,” Año stated during a media dinner last Tuesday. He said they may need to deploy additional troops to the region to maintain stability, as there are still unresolved issues that could affect the election.
While Año acknowledged the diminishing influence of the New People’s Army (NPA) in other parts of the country, he emphasized that BARMM’s unique challenges require focused attention from the security sector, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
The NSA noted that since this is their first BARMM parliamentary election, ensuring a stable environment is crucial.
Año’s remarks underscored the government’s commitment to addressing potential threats in BARMM, even as other regions see a decline in insurgent activity.
He said the NPA, the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has already been decimated in all its politico-military spectrum capabilities.
National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Executive Director Ernesto Torres, Jr. supported Año’s assessment. He told media executives that the influence of the CPP-NPA in some critical areas was indeed waning.
“Hopefully, we would like to see in this coming 2025 election that the Filipino electorate would completely shun voting for candidates who are terror groomers,” Torres said.
With these developments, Año expressed confidence that the government is close to ending the CPP-NPA’s violent chapter in Philippine history, possibly within the next year.
Regarding other election-related concerns, the NSA pointed out that past issues were primarily due to political violence between traditional political families and their hired goons.
Año said it had been observed in the past that many candidates still won without succumbing to the NPA’s extortion strategies like the “permit to campaign” or “permit to win.”
