Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia (Comelec's Facebook page)

Amid the threat posed by private armies, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to deputize members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to ensure the peaceful conduct of the 2025 mid-term elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said in a press conference on Wednesday, Oct. 9, that they will soon formalize this through a resolution similar to previous elections.

“Later on, we will issue the request and the directive to the PNP, they should be under the supervision and control of the Comelec because they will be deputized, including the AFP,” said Garcia.

“We really have to dismantle all private armies. Private armies cannot exist at the time of the elections or even at the time of the campaign period,” he stressed.

The Comelec has long called for intensified campaigns against private armed groups or private armies that are supposedly on the payroll of some candidates.

In a previous resolution, the poll body urged authorities to look into private security agencies that are essentially acting as private armies by politicians.

“I am telling this to everyone, especially to the candidates with private armed groups, the Comelec will not hesitate to use all the forces available, use all resources available to us, just to ensure that the voters are able to vote, that nobody is disenfranchised, and the people are not threatened or terrorized,” Garcia said.

The Comelec chairman said the poll body is committed to the conduct of “peaceful and honest elections” in May 2025.

No ‘areas of concern’ yet

Following the culmination of the filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) and certificates of nomination and acceptance (CONAs) on Tuesday, Garcia reiterated that Comelec won't be declaring certain places as “areas of concern”.

This, following the PNP’s submission of its list of “potential election areas of concern” to the poll body.

Based on existing parameters, a certain locality can be declared under “areas of concern”--or under Comelec’s control—if it has a history of election-related violence, the presence of a heated political rivalry, or there are private armed groups.

“Minarapat na hindi maglagay ng kahit anong areas of concern sa buong Pilipinas, ito ay sa kadahilanang magkakaroon kasi ng scenario na masisira ang normalidad ng lugar,” explained Garcia.

(We decided not to designate any areas of concern across the Philippines because doing so would disrupt the normalcy of the place.)

Following the violence that erupted in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur on Tuesday, Garcia said Comelec chose to deploy more members of the PNP and AFP there. The violence in connection with the filing of COCs reportedly injured five people.

“Tatapatan din namin, hindi lang naman ng sigasig, pero tatapatan namin din ng pwersa kung kinakailangan,” he stressed.

(We will match it, not only with determination, but also with force if necessary.)

In the meantime, the Comelec seeks to intensify its monitoring of areas where tensions may escalate, alongside strengthening its cooperation with civil society organizations.