Nearly 900 teachers assigned as election officers for the first BARMM parliamentary elections failed to report for duty, prompting the activation of a contingency plan that deployed trained police officers as replacements to ensure that voting continued without interruption.
Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Presidential Assistant and Undersecretary Noel Baraceros made the disclosure in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on Monday, September 14, describing how the government responded when hundreds of election workers did not show up.
The presidential assistant said the contingency was activated immediately, with 1,700 trained police officers from the Bangsamoro Police Regional Office deployed to cover the precincts left vacant by 839 absent teachers.
“Nung kahapon po, may na-report kasi na 839 na hindi po nagpakita. Hindi ko lang po alam kung ano ang final na number ng mga teachers na hindi nakapag-report, pero meron po tayong 1,700 sa ating Police Regional Office ng BARMM. Meron din pong additional na 2,000 na trained; actually sila po ang nagamit na natin nung nakaraang election din po na kapalit nung mga teachers na hindi nakapag-report,” Baraceros said.
Baraceros said the 2,000 additional trained police on standby are the same contingency force used in previous elections when teacher no-shows required a rapid replacement response, demonstrating that the government anticipated the possibility and prepared for it.
The presidential assistant said the contingency was activated not only for the absent teachers but also for areas where election officers failed to reach their assigned precincts on time due to security conditions, with escort operations arranged to bring teachers and watchers safely to polling sites.
“Sa mga area po na hindi nakarating o hindi nag-report ang ating mga supposed to be teachers na magpapatupad o tutulong sa pag-conduct ng ating eleksyon, ay agad naman pong natugunan with the presence ng ating mga trained na pulis,” Baraceros said.
He said the final number of absent teachers was still being tallied at the time of the interview, and that the government was confident the trained police force was sufficient to absorb the shortfall without turning away voters.
