MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is on full alert for the historic Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections on Sept. 14, 2026, as it identified 93 "areas of concern." “As of this date Sept. 11, we are on full alert status which will last until Sept. 30,” Col. Allen Rae Co, PNP spokesman, told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
He said that full alert status meant that 100 percent of police personnel are "in their places of assignment for any emergency or contingency."
Co said no threat has been monitored, so far, but assured that “there are no off limits to our forces especially when ensuring a peaceful election.”
A total of 10,000 security forces were deployed to secure the BARMM elections. Of this number, 4979 are from Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PROBAR) while the 5,640 are from augmentation forces coming from other PROs, Maritime Group, Highway Patrol Group, Explosives and Ordnance Division and the PNP Special Action Force. Areas to be secured are the Commission of Elections offices, Treasurer’s Offices, Voting Centers, checkpoints and other identified hotspots.
93 areas of concern
As of September 6, the PNP has identified 93 areas of concern across the entire region.
These are in:
Special Geographic Area (SGA) in the BARMM is a collection of 63 villages (barangay) from Cotabato province that joined the region through a 2019 plebiscite. Malacañang also declared Sept. 14, 2026 a special non-working day at BARMM to ensure residents’ full participation in the region’s inaugural parliamentary elections.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed that the first parliamentary elections in the BARMM would push through, stressing its crucial role in the political development of the region which continues to strengthen its autonomous governance.
The elections will allow Bangsamoro voters to elect representatives who will form the region’s first Parliament to shape policies and priorities under the region’s parliamentary form of government.
The BARMM was established under RA 11054, replacing the former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and providing the region with an expanded system of self-governance.