139 teachers in Cotabato unable to serve in BARMM polls -- Comelec

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A total of 139 teachers in Cotabato City are unable to serve in the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and will be replaced by members of special electoral boards, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

During the final testing and sealing of automated counting machines (ACM) on Saturday, Comelec George Garcia said the absent teachers will be replaced by police officers, who were trained and issued with Election Officer’s Certification.

“Meron na tayong 139 na mga guro, base sa latest na data na nanggaling sa local Comelec dito (sa Cotabato), na hindi makapag lilingkod sa Monday and therefore automatically replaced na sila ng mga special electoral board members. So tuloy ang monitoring natin,” Garcia said.

(Based on the latest data from the local Comelec office in Cotabato, 139 teachers will be unable to serve on Monday. Therefore, they will be automatically replaced by members of the special electoral boards. We will continue monitoring the situation.)

“Sa Cotabato, may naka-standby kami ng kulang-kulang 200 na PNP personnel, duly trained and with certifications coming from the DOST. Pwede silang pampalit sa electoral board members natin na regular public school teachers, just in case na hindi sila makapag lilingkod,” he added.

(In Cotabato, we have nearly 200 PNP personnel on standby who have been duly trained and certified by the Department of Science and Technology. They can replace our regular electoral board members, who are public school teachers, in case they are unable to serve.)

Garcia further said the poll body is still investigating why the teachers will be unable to serve.

He explained that under election protocols, teachers who are unable to attend the final testing and sealing of ACMs will be replaced by members of the special electoral board and will no longer be allowed to serve on election day.

Meanwhile, two teachers in Lanao del Sur will be unable to serve in the BARMM polls after it was discovered that they have a close relationship with a candidate.

BARMM will hold its first parliamentary election on Monday, September 14, with voters choosing representatives to fill the 80 seats in the Bangsamoro parliament government.

A part of the region’s peace process, the Bangsamoro election marks a major step in the transition from an interim government through the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to an elected regional administration.

Comelec earlier announced that 9,000 Philippine National Police personnel will be on standby to serve in the Bangsamoro elections as members of the special electoral board.

Garcia said such preparations were made to avoid what happened during the 2022 polls, when no teachers served in Cotabato City.

READ: BARMM 2026 elections: Frequently Asked Questions

There are 5,212 voting precincts in 105 municipalities and two cities in the Bangsamoro Region.

To help voters locate their voting precincts, the Comelec launched its Precinct Finder on September 7.

They can locate their voting precinct by entering their full name, date of birth, and place of registration. —RF, GMA News