MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday assured that preparations for the Sept. 14 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections are proceeding as planned despite the recent attack on the convoy of Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua.

Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said training and deployment of election personnel and teachers in the Bangsamoro region continue without interruption.

“Preparations and deployments in the Bangsamoro region are proceeding as planned. Training for personnel and teachers is continuing without interruption,” Garcia said in an interview.

Garcia also said the poll body would not be intimidated by the incident, in which Macacua’s convoy came under attack from still unidentified assailants along the General Santos–Cotabato National Highway in Barangay Bitu, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte at around 4:45 p.m. Saturday.

“We are not intimidated by incidents of this nature. Everything is proceeding normally, even with the Chief Minister involved. The election on Sept. 14 is definitely pushing through,” Garcia said.

He said Comelec has ordered heightened security for ballots, ballot boxes, vote-counting machines and other election paraphernalia to be used in the polls.

Garcia said the incident broke what had been a record of zero election-related violence in the BARMM electoral period, noting that there had been virtually no such incidents from the filing of certificates of candidacy through the campaign period.

“Even if no one was injured, the intent was to create tension; we will not let an incident like this pass without action,” he said.

Garcia said Comelec has classified the incident as election-related violence, although the Philippine National Police has yet to issue a formal declaration.

He noted that Macacua is an incumbent chief minister and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, and said the attack posed a potential threat to election preparations.

“The purpose was to create tension—to stir up talk within the Bangsamoro region,” Garcia said, adding that while the intent to kill could not yet be established, “a threat is a threat nonetheless.”

Meanwhile, Garcia said the situation in the area remains normal and election officers have been provided with security details to prevent a recurrence of previous incidents.

The PNP is also providing security personnel to election officers who request protection, he said./PNA