The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday, 6 September, warned local officials in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) against using government resources to campaign for candidates in the region’s first parliamentary elections.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia issued the warning during a radio interview as the historic BARMM polls draw near on 14 September.

“Madami pong mga local officials ang nangangampanya o pinangangampanya ang mga kandidato o partido pulitikal,” Garcia said.

(There are many local officials who are campaigning for candidates or political parties.)

“‘Yan po ay hindi ipinagbabawal, ang pangangampanya po nila, basta’t huwag na huwag po nila gagamitin ang mga resources ng mga local government units na kanila pong pinamumunuan,” he added.

(Local officials are not prohibited from campaigning for candidates as long as they do not use the resources of the local government units they lead.)

Garcia assured the public that Comelec is closely monitoring whether local officials are using government funds or other public resources during the campaign period.

“D’yan po kami nakamonitor talaga,” he said.

(We are closely monitoring that.)

A total of 80 parliamentary seats are up for grabs in the BARMM elections.

Garcia said BARMM has about 2.393 million registered voters and expects a high turnout on election day.