COTABATO CITY (August 31, 2026) — Three Army divisions are cooperating in security missions meant to ensure peaceful and orderly September 14 parliamentary elections in 44 towns of the Bangsamoro region in Central Mindanao.
Major Gen. Marion Angcao, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, his counterpart in the 6th Infantry Division, Brig. Gen. Ricky Bunayog, and his deputy, Brig. Edgar Catu, met on Saturday, August 29, at Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte and discussed how they can efficiently help the Commission on Elections ensure safe and clean Bangsamoro parliamentary polls in Central Mindanao on September 14.
Besides the 4th ID, which is based in Cagayan de Oro City in Region 10, personnel of the 10th Infantry Division, whose headquarters is in Mawab, Davao de Oro in Region 11, shall also help the 6th ID secure polling sites in its territory on September 14.
The commander of 10th ID, Major Gen. Alvin Luzon, said soldiers from their division had been fused with personnel of the 602nd Infantry Brigade in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area in Cotabato province in Region 12 for BARMM election security duties.
The 6th ID, whose headquarters is in Camp Siongco in Barangay Awang in Datu Odin Sinsuat, covers the adjoining Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the eight towns in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area, which is under the BARMM government but are inside Cotabato province in Region 12.
The Comelec had permitted more than 10 parties to pit candidates for the 80-seat BARMM parliament.
The 4th ID had augmented with its troops the units of the 6th ID in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, which have 12 and 22 towns, respectively, and in Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area.
Polling sites in Cotabato City, which is BARMM’s regional capital, shall be secured together by the 6th ID, the Navy’s 6th Marine Battalion, units of the Cotabato City Police Office, under its director. Col. Jibin M. Bongcayao, and the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, whose headquarters is in Camp SK Pendatun in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.
“All is well with our security preparations for the September 14 Bangsamoro regional elections. The 4th Infantry Division and the 10th Infantry Division are both supporting it,” Bunayog said.
He and Angcao and their subordinate-officers discussed, during their conference at Camp Siongco, how they can immediately address, under Comelec’s supervision, potential security challenges during the September 14 Bangsamoro regional polls in Central Mindanao.
Bunayog and Angcao appreciated, via separate statements on Sunday, the support of local executives and Bangsamoro regional officials to the Army’s effort of helping the Comelec make BARMM’s September 14 peaceful and fraud-free.
BARMM, a product of the national government’s peace overture with southern Moro communities, was established in 2019, replacing then the 27-year less empowered, now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The territory of BARMM also encompasses three other provinces, Lanao del Norte, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi and two other cities, Lamitan and Marawi. The Army’s 1st Infantry Division, PRO-BAR and other units under the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City shall together secure all five areas on September 14.
Photo shows the entrance to the headquarters of the 6th ID, covering parts of the Bangsamoro region, in Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. []