“WE are committing the whole Philippine Army to ensure that we will have a peaceful, honest, orderly and credible Midterm election,” ito ang naging pahayag nitong Lunes ni Army Commanding General Roy Galido.

Sa ginanap na CGPA’s Time with the Media 2025 kahapon ng umaga sa kanilang Punong Himpilan sa Fort Andres Bonifacio, Taguig City, inihayag ni General Galido na nakahanda ang buong pwersa ng Hukbong Katihan na suportahan ang Commission on Election at Philippine National Police sa pagtiyak na magiging mapayapa ang gaganaping eleksyon.

“WE can move thousands of soldiers!” ito ang nauna nang pahayag ni General Galido hinggil sa posibleng role ng Armed Forces of the Philippines kaugnay sa ginagawang paghahanda para sa nalalapit na May 2025 Midterm Polls at BARMM Election.

Ayon kay Galido, “Kaya naming mag-move ng libong sundalo para tulungan ang Philippine National Police na matiyak na magiging maayos, at payapa ang gaganaping midterm poll at partikular sa kauna- unahang Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao parliamentary election.

Nilinaw ng pamunuan ng Hukbong Katihan na ‘support’ lamang ang role nila at ang PNP pa rin ang lead agency na siyang mangangalaga sa kaayusan ng gaganaping halalan, Magugunitang inihayag ng pamunuan ng AFP na may inisyal na 18,000 tauhan sila na idineploy sa unang sigwada ng election campaign period.

Inihayag naman ni AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla na posible pang madagdagan ang bilang ng ikakalat na military personnel sa ilang lugar depende sa “category” na ibibigay ng Philippine National Police (PNP).

“So, for red areas, of course, we’ll have more troops in the area. And it also varies — including the transportation of ballots, so these are mobile deployments. We’ll add more troops accordingly,” ani Col. Padilla.

Ibinigay na halimbawa ng AFP ang mga lugar na kinakailangan ng dagdag na deployment gaya ng mga area na may natukoy na hinihinalang private armed groups (PAGs).

“So, there are different categories that were given by our Philippine National Police. So, there are red areas, orange areas, yellow areas. That’s where our deployment will vary, how many troops we will bring there,” paliwanag pa ng tagapagsalita.

“But rest assured that the armed forces of the Philippines will provide and of course make sure that the elections will be conducted peacefully and our fellow countrymen will be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote during the day,” dagdag pa nito. (JESSE KABEL RUIZ)