COTABATO CITY — Police teams have been markedly visible since Wednesday in strategic sites in two Bangsamoro provinces following deadly gun attacks in both areas amid an election-related gun ban.
Brig. Gen. Romeo J. Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), told reporters on Thursday that the Army’s 6th Infantry Division is helping them enforce the gun ban in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte to prevent a repeat of the deadly incidents in both provinces in the past three weeks.
The nationwide restriction by the Commission on Elections of unauthorized carrying of firearms outside residences started on Jan. 12, meant to ensure peaceful elections in May 2025.
“Local government units are also helping us implement the gun ban in both provinces,” Mr. Macapaz said.
Ten individuals in Maguindanao del Sur had been killed by gunmen one attack after another since Jan. 12; while Maguindanao del Norte recorded five deadly gun-related incidents during the period.
Security has been tight in Maguindanao del Norte’s Datu Odin Sinsuat town, which is covered by PRO-BAR’s 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company led by Lt. Col. Esmael A. Madin.
Among the areas guarded tightly since Wednesday by PRO-BAR’s 1st PMFC are Barangay Awang, where the Cotabato Airport is located, and Barangay Tamontaka at the border of Cotabato City and Datu Odin Sinsuat.
Cotabato City is the regional seat of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. — John Felix M. Unson