Only half of BARMM teachers want to serve in May elections
KORONADAL CITY—One out of every two teachers in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has expressed disinterest in taking on election duties on May 12, mainly due to security concerns, the region’s education ministry said on Friday.
Mobarak Pandi, information officer of the BARMM’s Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), said that 10,512 teachers throughout the region have formally signified their commitment to serve as members of electoral boards as of March 21.
The figure represents 53 percent of the total teaching workforce in the region, which meant that, so far, only one out of every two teachers in the BARMM is willing to serve in the elections.
Aside from security concerns, Pandi told the Inquirer by phone that the low number of teachers who expressed willingness to take on poll duties could also be due to their lack of access to the internet.
“Many far-flung areas in the region have no internet connection,” he said, noting that the teachers who volunteered to serve in the May 2025 polls did so through an online system.
Teachers are the primary workforce mobilized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to manage the electoral exercise at the precincts throughout the country.
The MBHTE, headed by Mohagher Iqbal, endorsed them to the Comelec, which would be the appointing authority for them to serve as electoral board members, Pandi said.
The BARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi.
While Sulu had been excluded from the region, there are 5,251 teachers and 708 non-teaching personnel that are still under the MBHTE, Pandi said.
Challenges
“The submission emphasized the commitment of BARMM educators to support the democratic process despite a range of challenges,” the MBHTE said in a statement.
In the past elections, there was also a low number of teachers who served “due, in part, to concerns about security,” it added.
Pandi said that teachers in the BARMM have long faced threats and intimidation while undertaking election duties, which has contributed to their current hesitance.
Violence in the BARMM has escalated with the 2025 election season underway.
Last Wednesday, Datu Odin Sinsuat election officer Maceda Lidasan Abo was ambushed in Barangay Makir. Her husband Jojo, who was driving their vehicle, was killed instantly while the election officer died later in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Pandi noted that there have been “persistent issues with the lack of coordination between election officers and authorized MBHTE officials.”
Disconnect
“This disconnect has further fueled apprehension among teachers regarding their safety and the overall efficiency of the election process,” he explained.
“While the Comelec is responsible for overseeing the election, the ministry has had to take it upon itself to ensure that its workforce is properly supported and protected,” he added.
The MBHTE solicited volunteer teachers through the MBHTE Administrative Support System.
The names of teachers interested in serving were then certified by school heads, verified by the MBHTE main office, and endorsed directly to the Bangsamoro Electoral Office, with copies furnished to provincial, municipal, and city election officers.
Pandi said the MBHTE does not only strengthen the region’s commitment to free, fair, and transparent elections but also highlights the critical role educators play in maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.
