Islamic City of Marawi (29 April) -- The soldiers under the 103rd Infantry (HARIBON) Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, Philippine Army, started casting their votes yesterday, April 28, for the local absentee voting in connection with the 2010 automated elections.
All units under the brigade which include the 51st Infantry Battalion, the 64th Infantry Battalion and the 65th Infantry Battalion joined the local absentee voting yesterday although they are expected to finish on April 30 due to the wide dispersion of their troops.
Under COMELEC Resolution 8754, local absentee voting is a system of voting whereby government officials and employees, including members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, who are duly registered voters are allowed to vote in places where they are not registered voters but where they are temporarily assigned to perform election duties on election day.
Under the local absentee voting, only the positions of President, Vice-President, Senators and Party-List Representatives shall be voted for.
"This is the most peaceful election I have witnessed in Lanao del Sur," quipped Bridage Commander BGen. Rey C. Ardo.
Past elections in the province have been traditionally intense sometimes resulting to election violence. As such, the Haribon brigade has been preparing hard to ensure that there will be honest, orderly and peaceful elections (HOPE) in the province.
Earlier this year, the brigade together with the members of Lanao del Sur Joint Security Control Center (JSCC) initiated the signing of covenant among the local candidates to elicit their commitment towards a clean and peaceful elections.
Several members of civil society organizations in the province have also banded together and coordinated with the brigade to form the Task Force HOPE.
Task Force HOPE undertakes a voter's education campaign on the automated system of elections.
Moreover, the JSCC have been strictly implementing the gun ban which prohibits the carrying of firearms.
COMELEC checkpoints have been set along the national highway of the province to ensure that nobody, especially electoral candidates, are bringing firearms. Military and police escorts are not allowed to carry firearms without the necessary exemption from the COMELEC.
As a result of these activities, the brigade has been able to thoroughly plan on how to make the elections relatively safer for the voters.
Since the soldiers have already cast their votes, they could be deployed earlier to secure the voters, the polling places, the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and other election paraphernalia, Ardo added
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