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COTABATO CITY (SDN) — Every political exercise in the Philippines calls for tens of thousands of teachers to serve as election officers, the frontline workers risking their lives.
Be that as it may, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) headed by Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal has submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) a list of 10,512 Bangsamoro teachers willing to serve in midterm elections.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) eight municipalities out of the 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
Earlier, SDN – Scitech & Digital News learned that the MBHTE has more than 22,000 teaching personnel in its 10 school division offices (SDOs).
In a press statement sent out by the MBHTE, Iqbal said the 10,512 willing teachers represent more than half — 53 percent — of the region’s total teaching personnel.
He submitted the MBHTE teachers’ names in a list to the Comelec on March 21, emphasizing the signified commitment of BARMM educators’ support to the country’s democratic process even as they faced professional, political, and economic challenges.
On the other hand, the education ministry of the Bangsamoro region took “pro-active steps to address the concerns, including provision of an administrative support system to ensure voluntary participation to such extended service is secured.”
MBHTE’s Mubarak “Moby” P. Pandi, the regional information head, sent out the education ministry’s statement to members of the media to ensure, among others, the regional teachers’ willingness to serve is known by the general public.
In relation with this, Pandi pointed out that the teaching personnels’ willingness and decision to serve in the midterm elections come with “its own share of complexities” as reported in news release.
It can be recalled that in past political exercises there were fewer teachers who served in the poll duties because of concerns for their security. This was attributed to the highly charged electoral atmosphere in the Bangsamoro region as they faced threats and intimidation as they discharged their electoral responsibilities. It was said to be one of the reasons for their hesitance in doing election duties.
The MBHTE chief, meanwhile, assured full support for its teaching personnel to be deployed in May through proper support and better security as well as improving coordination between elections officers and the officials of the education ministry.
He said that improving coordination, that is, communication lines are open, may reduce teachers’ apprehension and concerns for their safety resulting in their overall efficiency in the transmission of ballots, as he referenced past field reports.
On of the measures the MBHTE is putting in place has to do with mitigation efforts that cover the promulgation and adoption of MBHTE guidelines for this year’s political exercise to attract a bigger number to teachers serving as election officers.
Encouraging volunteerism, says Pandi, should be included in the guidelines in the MBHTE Administrative Support System.
Apparently, this calls also for interested teachers to be certified by school heads, verified by the MBHTE Main Office, and endorsed directly to the Regional Director.
In turn, copies of the aforementioned documents are to be furnished to provincial, municipal, and city election officers. “This thorough process ensures both the confidentiality of the teachers’ information and their safety,” Iqbal said.
The Bangsamoro education ministry, one of the BARMM’s 15 primary ministries, the measures cited above are necessary to augment whatever Comelec’s measures in place for teachers’ safety who will serve as poll workers.
This is being done, said Iqbal so the MBHTE “not only strengthens the region’s commitment for free, fair, and transparent elections but also highlights the critical role educators play in maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.”
Observers from the Bangsamoro community lauded the MBHTE steps aimed at ensuring teachers’ wellbeing and safety as they said past political exercise in the region witnessed very contentious and heated confrontations between and among supporters of rival candidates running for various positions.
Ballot snatching, intimidations, even violence had attended elections in the Bangsamoro communities in the past, which in some ways had put serving teachers as poll officers at risk.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 105 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; (minus Sulu); and Tawi-Tawi, 11, SGA, eight. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. — EDD K. Usman (✓)
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Source: MBHTE, The Manila Standard